


Hope's Peak University

by miss_fictions



Category: Dangan Ronpa, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Daddy Issues, Don't Examine This Too Closely, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Mystery, Naegiri - Freeform, Not Beta Read, Out of Character, Self-Esteem Issues, no gender stereotypes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-17
Updated: 2016-11-15
Packaged: 2018-08-23 00:42:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 32,672
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8307220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_fictions/pseuds/miss_fictions
Summary: Makoto Naegi could barely believe he was approved in Hope's Peak University. Even though his average personality made him feel inadequate among the other students, his accidental bond to classmate Kyouko Kirigiri makes him feel accepted as they investigate a mysterious case involving another student.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Heeeyy again!  
> Gosh, I've had a sudden burst of creativity and started writing this fic a week ago, having it almost finished by now (just maybe 2 chapters left to write).  
> It's going to have around 10 chapters, I'll update in the description as soon as I know for sure.  
> The initial paragraphs of this chapter are like the beginning of the game, with the proper modifications to fit the University environment.  
> I hope you enjoy! I'll probably update twice a week :D

The massive university towers over all the other buildings in this bustling urban area. It's like the university stands at the centre of the entire world.

Hope's Peak University.

It brings in top students from every field imaginable. A government-funded university of privilege... They say that if you come here and manage to graduate, you'll be set for life. With hundreds of years of tradition, it sends the cream of the crop into the work force every year. It was built to raise hope in the nation's future, which makes Hope's Peak a pretty fitting name.

There are two things you need to attend this university... One, you have to already be graduated in high school, obviously. Two, you have to pass their entrance exam, that’s the most competitive of the country.

No ordinary student could enroll here. The only way is if you study hard and become the best.

And standing there at the gate of the ultimate school filled with the ultimate students... was me.

My name's Makoto Naegi. I'm nothing but a hopelessly average student. Average on the outside, average on the inside. I really don't have much going for me when it comes to grades, special abilities, even personality. I mean yeah, I have hobbies and stuff I like to do, but it's not like I'm a nerd nor have any above the average intelligence.

Like, if you asked me what my favorite song was, or my favorite movie or TV show... They'd all just be whatever's most popular at that particular moment. Even among the average, I'm completely average.

That's just who I am.

You might be wondering, how did such an unbelievably average student like me get picked to come to this "ultimate" university? Well, there is a reason…

While still in high school, my family forced me to start focusing on universities already. I went to cram school for two years while still attending normal classes, and had little to no social life. It was stressing, to be honest.

And all that effort went down the drain when I didn’t get in on the first roll call. I felt like my world was completely collapsing below my feet… Then, a while later, the second roll call was published and my name was still not there. I was about to give up and enroll at cram school again, until, on the last roll call, my name appeared.

It was like a dream coming true. So this is how I’m here.

And my university life starts now.

~*~ 

I moved into the dorms two days ago and took the free time before classes actually started to organize my stuff and get to know the campus. I walked around and discovered where the places I’d mostly like need were, like the library, the restaurant, the bank and the building where my classes for the semester would be.

So, when Monday arrived, I was completely prepared for my first day. I grab my bag and head straight to my classes’ building, not much far from the dorms. Once I step in, I feel the energy from the students fill me with an exciting feeling. Seniors talked to freshmen, explaining how they could find the classes, and new friendships were being made in every corner.

I follow to my class, on the first floor, and find a seat on the back row to wait patiently for it to start along with my new classmates. Some of them were very stylish, making me feel even more average than I already felt. I notice that a blue-haired girl glances at me a few times, which makes me curious, but she soon continues her conversation with an orange-haired punk guy. Now that I thought about it, she seemed quite familiar, even though I couldn’t really point from where.

Before I could continue thinking, a professor walks in the class and everyone quiets down. I tense up a little, anxious, while he welcomes us to the university and explains some general rules.

That’s when we all hear knocks on the door, and once the professor says that they could come in, a lavender-haired girl quietly excuses herself and comes to the back of the class to sit down next to me. Seems like everyone in this university dyes their hairs… I felt so boring.

Class goes by with only the professor explaining us this mandatory stuff about the university itself, turning very boring after a while. I watch my classmates, seeing that most of them seemed bored as well, and even start feeling sleepy… But no, I wouldn’t sleep in my first class, so I open my notebook and start drawing anything to keep me awake.

When finally the class ends, everyone leaves their seats in a hurry and, while chatting, start exiting the room. I notice that the lavender-haired girl completely disappears before I could even see her again, and, much to my surprise, the blue-haired girl comes in my direction just before I left.

“Hey!” She greets me excitingly. “You’re Makoto Naegi, right?”

“Y-Yeah…” I agree, kind of embarrassed. She had this sort of mesmerizing aura, like I would be hypnotized if I looked to her too much.

“Did you happen to go to Blackroot Junior High? Were you maybe... in class 2?” She asks me, curiosity filling her eyes.

“Y-Yeah, actually... I was.” Now that she mentions it, some memories start appearing in my brain.

“I knew it! I went there, too! I was in class 4, though. Do you remember me?”

Then it finally clicks inside me. Sayaka Maizono, the most popular girl in Junior High. She was always surrounded by people and being complimented by everyone… The only difference in her now was her blue hair, but her face was really the same.

“Yes, I do remember!” I say excitingly. “Sayaka, right?”

“Yeah!” She smiles.

The weirdest part is that we’d never even talked to each other, but somehow she remembered me better than I remembered her.

“I’m surprised that you actually remember me.” I mumble nervously, passing a hand through my hair.

“We went to the same school for three years, of course I remember!”

“Well, that's true. But there were lots of students in our grade, right? Plus, I've never been the type of person to ever really stand out.”

“What are you talking about?” She starts giggling. “You're so strange!”

Her smile was so nice that it makes my heart grow calmer and I almost forget how out of place I was feeling. The happy moment would have lasted more if someone didn’t call her.

“Hey Sayaka, let’s go to our next class!” It was the orange-haired guy.

“Coming!” She waves to him, before turning back to me. “Well, let’s catch up later, alright?”

“S-Sure!” I smile and wave as she walks away.

I head to my next class still thinking about Sayaka and wondering which sort of fate brought us to meet again in university. Therefore, she was nowhere in sight in this one, so I’m left to think alone in the back row as I wait for the teacher to appear.

I recognize some other classmates that were with me on my first class and start imagining which ones of them I would mostly get along with. After the professor steps in and closes the door, someone knocks on the door again and, being allowed in, they’re revealed to be the lavender-haired girl again. She quietly excuses herself and comes to the back of the room, sitting two seats from me this time. Would she always be late to classes? Doing such thing on her first day wouldn’t look good for her…

Well, class goes on, this one being really about a subject. I try to pay attention the best I can, making notes in my notebook as I've learnt in cram school, but somehow the professor’s teaching was so different that I lose myself in the middle of explanation… I look to the side and notice that the lavender girl doesn’t even has her notebook open, she just listens to the professor’s words and keeps nodding, like she was taking everything in. I guess that’s what it means to have a high IQ…

This class ends much quicker than the previous, and so I finally have a time to catch my breath from the hard explanations. As I put my stuff back in my bag and wonder what I’d have to lunch, I notice that lavender girl had already made her way out, but left her still untouched notebook behind. I grab it quickly and storm out of the room, trying to find her, and spot her going down the main stairways.

She seemed in a complete hurry, jumping down steps of the stairs, making it impossible to me to reach her. I don’t give up and continue following her outside, until she suddenly takes a glance around her, as if searching if anyone was following her. It was so suspicious that I quickly freeze and pretend to be fidgeting with my pockets, until she decided that it was okay to continue walking. Where the hell was she going?

I continue following her, though more discreetly this time, until she reaches the staff building. She walks in, taking a look around her again – and I need to pretend to be heading the other way as she does – and passes her student ID card on the gate to be allowed in. As soon as she disappears inside I quickly do the same, passing my ID card and searching for where she was going. She heads up to the third floor, where a secretary’s table stood in front of a very fancy door that read “Headmaster’s” above. I hide behind a wall as she exchanges a few words with the secretary, and I can’t really figure what they’re saying, but soon I hear the fancy door being opened and lavender girl disappears inside. What the hell? How could she walk into the headmaster’s office like that?

I wait for her to come back, still hiding, and not much later I hear the door reopening and she walks out. She continues walking in the direction of the stairways, until the voice of the secretary stops her on her tracks.

“Kyouko! Aren't you going to wait for your father?” I gasp as I hear this.

“I’ll come back some other time.” Lavender girl replies, continuing towards the stairways.

I needed to find another place to hide before she saw me, but it’s all too late and soon she crosses past me and sees me there, against the wall, looking as guilty as I can be.

“You’re my classmate. What are you doing here?” She asks me, with her low and serious voice. It gives me the chills.

“I-uh—“ I look to her notebook in my hand and wave it up in the air. “You left your notebook at the classroom, so—“

She quickly grabs it from my hand and continues down the stairs. I follow behind her, confused and alarmed, until we reach the first floor.

“H-Hey!” I call her attention, making her turn around.

“What is it?” She asks, crossing her arms, and not looking slightly welcoming.

I could have kept quiet or could ask what was bugging me, and since I’m stupid, I chose the second option.

“You’re the headmaster’s daughter?”

Her stoic expression turns slightly furious as her eyebrows furrow.

“So you heard that?” She asks me with a calm voice, like it didn’t really worry her.

“Y-Yeah…” I nervously pass a hand through my hair.

She, then, steps closer to me, and her imposing posture makes her few centimeters taller than me seem like kilometers.

“If you tell anyone about this, I’ll make sure I find something to destroy you.” She threatens, still with a calm voice, before turning around. “Don’t follow me anymore.”

Like that, she walks away and leaves the building. Only when she disappears from my sight that I’m able to unfreeze, feeling my knees weak.

This was certainly a nice way of starting university.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again!!  
> I hope you enjoy this chapter :3 There's a few naezono in it, but it's nothing to really worry about~ hahah

After the events of the first day, I decide to lay low and focus only on keeping up with classes. Well, Sayaka does come to talk to me a few times, and she was just so nice that I felt butterflies on my stomach whenever I heard her voice. Therefore, we were always interrupted by the orange-haired guy, that’s named Leon, who called her to come with him. As much as I sensed something might be going on between them, she made so much effort on talking to me every day that I couldn’t help wondering if she had some sort of special interest or not.

Maybe it was just something my inexperienced mind made up to cover my loneliness, but it still bugged me. Not that I’d do anything about it…

As for lavender girl – that I found that’s called Kyouko on the first day – she continues arriving late for classes and never looks on my direction, like she was completely ignoring my existence. I even try greeting her, but she doesn’t answer and walks away from me… Nice, I just started university and already had someone who hated me around.

Yet, strangely, as much as she ignored me, I start spotting her pretty much everywhere I went. Well, it wasn’t that weird since the campus isn’t that big, but it was curious how we decided to go to the same places at the same times. I see her at the restaurant, at the library and even walking in the dorms building. The probable explanation for that are our schedules being very similar, since we share most classes… But I wouldn’t give it much thought.

I also get to talk to some other classmates because of some group projects, and like that I meet Hina, a sweet girl who is a professional swimmer; Hiro, a guy that I wondered how he got in – seriously, he seemed slower than me – and Byakuya, a rich and rude guy that only calls me bad names and makes me feel like shit on the end of the day. There were already other groups of friends forming inside class, but it was a little harder to approach them… they were either too popular or too scary-looking, so I’d keep quiet until one of them decided talking to me.

Two weeks pass by without anything very exciting happening. On a Friday, though, everyone was talking about this welcoming party our seniors were going to throw for us, and I didn’t really felt like going until Sayaka walked towards me, after class, and asked me if I was going.

“Uh, me?” I gasp, surprised.

“Yes, you!” She giggles. “It’ll be nice to bond with our classmates, I think you should come!”

“I… I don’t know…” I tilt my head, confused. “I’ve never been to a party like this.”

“It’ll be my first time as well!” She says excitingly. “Come on, I bet it’s going to be fun!”

She sounded so anxious that I can’t bring myself to say no.

“Alright, I might appear there tonight.”

“Woo-hoo! I’ll see you there, then!” She brightens up before walking away.

I get pretty nervous with the prospect of going to a university party… from what I’ve heard, they usually turn pretty wild, with people really going overboard…

But I couldn’t simply be a chicken and hide in my room all night, I had to go and see with my two eyes what it would be like. Besides, I could meet some classmates there and start new friendships, something I really need…

That night, I take a warm shower, put some cooler clothes that I hadn’t wear to class yet, and head out of my room. On the way to the party, that was going to happen in a co-op out of the campus, I meet Sakura and Hina. The two of them got very close right away, which made me even a little jealous about not finding anyone that I hit it off from the start.

“Hey, Makoto!” Hina greets me cheerfully. “Are you going to the party?”

“Yeah…” Sakura still made me a little afraid, given her tough physique, but I’ve learnt that she’s actually very cool.

“Great! Walk with us there, so you won’t have to arrive alone.” Hina suggests.

“Is that okay?” I ask, looking to Sakura.

“Of course.” Sakura smiles slightly, crossing her arms.

We walk together while chatting about classes and our impressions on teachers and classmates. It takes less than 20 minutes to arrive there, and as soon as we eye the house, we realize the party was already blowing inside. Some people were drinking in the front grass, some others were making out at the porch… That makes me a little hesitant from heading in, but Hina grabs my arm and drags me along with her and Sakura.

By the entrance, a white-haired guy greets us, and I recognize him to be one of our seniors. For some reason, though, he suddenly grabs my hands, lifting them to his eyes-level.

“Such beautiful hands!” He exclaims, pressing them. “I really am lucky for having the pleasure of meeting someone with hands so perfectly designed!”

“Nagito, stop scaring our freshmen…” Another senior appears and pulls Nagito away from me. “Sorry about this, he’s a little drunk already.”

“No worries.” I chuckle uncomfortably.

“I’m Hajime, we live here… Please enjoy the party and feel at home. Just try not destroying more things…” He rolls his eyes, seeming exhausted. “Anyway, head inside.”

I do as he say and follow Hina and Sakura into the house. I seriously wondered how so many people could fit inside one room, since everywhere I looked was completely crowded. Walking past some people, we arrive at the dining room, where some food was being served.

“Oh my, do they have donuts?” Hina storms towards some people carrying a paper box.

That’s when someone pokes me from behind, and when I turn around, I find out it was Sayaka.

“Oh, hey!” I greet her, trying not to look nervous.

“Hey! I’m glad you came!” She giggles like usual. “Are you enjoying the party?”

“I actually just arrived… It’s pretty crowded, right?” I try to make small talk, something I’m very bad at.

“Yeah, people are going crazy.” She waves her hand in the air. “Well, I’ll be around. Find me later, if you want!”

“Sure!” I say before she walks away.

“Sayaka-chan is so cute, right?” Hina reappears by my side, making me jump in surprise.

“Y-Yeah…” I pass a hand through my hair. “Did you hear our conversation?”

“Halfway. You two are close, right? I saw you chatting a few times.”

“We knew each other from junior high, so we try catching up.”

“That’s nice!” Hina says, excitingly.

Well, I still wondered what Sayaka’s intention really was with all the moves she makes to approach me, and the way she told me to look for her later sounded suspicious somehow. But there was no way I could be sure, only if I asked her straight-forwardly…

“Hey, Hina… Can I ask you something?” I say, looking for an opinion.

“Sure! Bring it on.”

“I, uh… I’m actually confused about the way Sayaka treats me, she sometimes even goes out of her way just to have a little chat with me… And she’s always smiling and excited, I don’t know if this means anything…”

“You have a crush on her?” Hina asks, making me turn red.

“A-Ah, y-yeah, I might have.” I admit, confused. “But I don’t know about her… Her actions make me confused.”

“Well, you should tell her how you feel and see how she reacts! If she gives you hints, she might like you as well, but you’ll never know for sure until you talk to her.” Hina says, thoughtful. “You two would be a nice couple; I hope it turns out fine!”

“Thanks, Hina.” I smile, embarrassed. “Should I look for her now?”

“Yeah, do it! A party like this is a great opportunity for these things.”

Feeling a little more confident, I walk away from Hina and start searching Sayaka around the house. There were so many people around that my efforts seem useless, so I just keep walking until I crossed ways with her again.

That’s when I spot her talking with Celestia at the living room. I inhale deeply and start walking towards her, until, just as I was about to call her name, someone pulls me harshly by the arm.

“Well well well, if isn’t the awkward boring midget from my class!” My mind takes a few seconds to comprehend what Leon was saying to me. We never talked, so it was weird to be treated so rudely in our first conversation.

“H-Hey, Leon.” I say uncomfortably.

“Were you heading to talk to Saya-chan?” He says mockingly, and I smell alcohol coming from him. “What makes you think that she wants to talk to such plain guy?!”

“I-I, uh…” I didn’t know what to say, and neither how to manage this. I’m terrible at arguments. “She asked me to meet her…”

“Oh, so she’s still feeling sorry for her former bullied classmate, that’s so sweet!” He laughs, making me terribly embarrassed.

That’s right… My years in Junior High weren’t very nice. Maybe that’s why I didn’t remember Sayaka at first, I try to forget those years like they never existed.

“That’s not it.” I swallow my insecurity and try to seem a little more firm. “We’re friends.”

“Friends? Don’t make me laugh. I know you want to screw her… She’s just too nice to notice your true intentions.”

“No!” I feel angry at such suggestion. My feelings would never be as shallow as that.

“Just admit it. It must be sad for you, knowing that you’d never stand a chance with her…”

“How can you be so sure?” I counter, trying to maintain my pride.

“Are you serious?” He laughs again, even louder. “Why would she want to stay with an unmanly, weak and average guy like you? Wake up! Not even if you were the last guy standing. You should disappear, you're an embarrassment.”

I… didn’t know what to argue with that. I knew I was average and had nothing interesting, and I knew that my body figure wasn’t anything admirable. Truth is, I also think I’m too small and weak for a guy. To be with a girl like Sayaka, that had nothing of average… it was quite ridiculous, now that I thought about it.

“Yeah, maybe you’re right.” I mumble, mostly to myself. “I’m heading off now.”

I turn around before even checking if he was still going to say anything to me and walk to the entrance of the house. I leave and make my way back to the dorms, failing completely at my tentative of holding back the tears and breaking down completely halfway.

I’m just ridiculous.

I shouldn’t be at this university, at the first place. It was purely luck that made me pass. And to arrive here and think that Sayaka, one of the nicest and prettiest girls, was interested in me… I’m really delusional.

Leon was right. She was just feeling sad for me because she saw how I was bullied in Junior High. I was one of the dumbest students, and, to make it worse, I have always been smaller than most guys my age. Didn’t take long before I became their punching bag and a huge joke for everyone.

Junior High was hell on earth.

I continue walking while sniffing quietly, until I arrive by the dorms. I am such a failure that I won’t even do anything about it, I’d just accept what Leon said.

Was this the right thing to do?

Something strikes me, then. Maybe it was the rest of my pride, struggling to survive against my terribly low self-esteem.

“That’s it... That’s right. I’m not going to leave things like this; I’m going to do something cruel to Leon as well.” I mutter to myself, sniffing. “Saying those things to me was plainly cruel, I can’t leave it at that.”

But what could I do? I didn’t have any cruel ideas in mind; I actually never felt the desire of doing anything bad to anyone… Yeah, not even to those bullies in middle school, they were just a bunch of misunderstood kids who needed more attention from their parents.

Even without any idea in mind, I walk towards his dorm room. I knew it was located on the first floor, so if his window was open, I could slip in and find something passive aggressive to make to him.

I search for the right window, checking inside if it was really his room, and carefully try to open it from outside. Like I imagined, Leon didn’t seem like the kind of person to bother closing it, so as easy as that I jump into it and get into his room.

His belongings were all over the place. Notebooks spread over his table, clothes scattered on the floor… His wardrobe was open with stuff falling from it… I didn’t even want to step into his bathroom or I might pass out. After looking around for a few minutes, I spot his socks drawer and a perfect, brilliant idea crosses my mind: I’d steal one of each sock he had, so he’d never wear a pair again. With a huge grin, I find a plastic bag and start filling it with his socks, and once I’m done, I leave his room as quickly as I can.

When I get outside, I close the window the way I found it and, satisfied, I make my way to the entrance of the dorms. That until someone abruptly stands up from behind a bush, and I almost yell my lungs off, closing my eyes in fear.

“Shut up, do you want to get caught?” The voice was pretty familiar, so I reopen my eyes. Oh, it was the lavender girl, or better, Kyouko.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, confused.

“I’m the one who should be asking this. What were you doing in Leon’s room?”

Damn, that’s it. Kyouko will call security and I’m completely done in the first week at college. I guess it was nice while it lasted.

“I was…” I try to begin explaining. “I was trying to earn my pride back.”

She approaches me and grabs the plastic bag from my hand, analyzing its content.

“By stealing socks?” She lifts an eyebrow.

“You don’t know what he did to me, alright? So don’t judge my decisions.” I grab the bag from her hands, embarrassed.

“In fact, I actually know what he did.” She crosses her arms. “I saw the way he humiliated you at that party.”

“Wait, you were there?” I gasp.

“Yes. Actually, I've been following you, so for that reason I saw that scene.”

“Why are you following me?”

“I need to find out some ugly truth about you so we can be even.”

“Is this about me following you and finding out you’re the headmaster’s daughter?”

“Don’t speak that out loud.” She looks around, cautious.

“Literally anyone can find that out if they bother to check your last name and the headmaster’s.”

“Yes, but no one would do that purposely, so finding out would be an accident. Therefore, you did find out by your malefic actions, so you can easily spread the gossip around for the sake of your own pleasure.”

“I’ve told you already that I’m not going to! Besides… I didn’t follow you on purpose!”

“I’m afraid I can’t trust mere words.”

“Okay, so what are you going to do now? Are you going to hold against me that I sneaked into Leon’s room?”

“In fact, I am. Yet, I also want to help you.”

“Help me how?”

“I don’t think it was nice what Leon did to you, so I recorded the scene with my phone.” She grabs her phone from her pocket and, after fidgeting with it for a bit, shows me the recorded video of my humiliation. “The things he said are more than enough for a huge reprimand, and the fact that he told you to disappear can be interpreted as a way of telling you to go kill yourself, which would earn him a suspension.”

“Oh.” I get speechless. Meeting her right now was a ride, but, in the end, she wants to help me? “So, you’re not as cold as you seem, right?”

“I’m still cold, I just can’t accept this sort of thing.” She puts her phone back in her pocket. “So, we can send this video anonymously to the university’s security department and wait until they take their actions.”

“That sounds awesome.”

“Leave it to me, then.” She smiles slightly with the corner of her lips. “You shall see results by Monday.”

She, then, turns away and starts walking towards the entrance of the dorms. I take a few seconds to decide running behind her.

“Thank you.” I say. “In the end, you won’t really have anything to hold against me.”

“Of course I still have, you invaded his dorm room. That could also get you expelled. So don’t you dare telling anyone about the… headmaster.”

“Don’t worry.” I wouldn’t dare trying to be against her, realizing already she was way more intelligent than me.  

I watch as she disappears up the stairs and decide to head back to my room as well. The night overall was bad, but seeing her made things better. At least I’d sleep nicer tonight, not thinking too much about Leon's words...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot hope you guys enjoyed!!  
> Next chapter will finally start being more naegiri :3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry for the late update! I planned to post this on Sunday, but I'm having internet connection issues... ¬¬  
> Anyway, here's the third chapter <3 Finally some proper naegiri interaction!  
> Hope you like it! Leave your comments if you like :3

As Kyouko said, Monday arrives and, during the first class, Leon is called by the security. He seems very confused as he leaves, like he had no idea what he did wrong… I’d feel bad for him, but this is what he deserves. This is what I chose to believe.

I look over to Kyouko, sitting by my side once again, and find her eyeing me, a hint of satisfaction on her face. I smile softly to her and breathe in, knowing I did the right thing.

While I was going to my next class, therefore, Sayaka suddenly appears in my front.

“Makoto!” She walks to me with a worried expression.

“Hey, Sayaka…” I feel embarrassed of even facing her, so I lower my head and gaze the floor.

“I’ve heard about Leon… He got reprimanded because someone sent security a video of him humiliating you. What did he say?”

“Don’t bother about it.” I chuckle lightly. “If someone did that, it’s already enough to make me move on.”

“I don’t even know how to apologize to you… He got so possessive over me when it’s related to you that it was irritating. I told him we’re just friends, but he didn’t seem to believe… And now he comes as far as doing this to you, when you suffered already so much…”

Well, two things get pretty clear with her words. First, they were, in fact, dating. I didn’t have any hope anymore, so it doesn’t hurt me to know that. Second, she did feel sorry for me, so maybe that’s the reason she wanted to befriend me so bad, like Leon said…

“Don’t worry about me, he’s going to face the consequences already and that’s enough.” I say positively. “Just don’t let him mistreat you.”

“I won’t. I like him, even though he’s difficult sometimes… But I’ll talk to him about this. If he doesn’t change, I’ll end things.” She smiles apologetically.

“Yeah, do that. You deserve someone who treats you right, so if he can’t, you may let him go.”

“You’re right.” She smiles.

We bid goodbyes and she walks off, allowing me to continue to my next class. Even with the prospect of her breaking up with Leon I didn’t really feel the same as before. It was like hearing these things from him reminded me of how I don’t deserve anyone, so I should simply stay in my lane.

I arrive at my second class and Kyouko was already there on her seat. We just exchange quick glances before I sit down and start organizing my stuff over the table. Soon the teacher arrives and class begins, keeping my mind busy all the time.

Near the end of the class, before Kyouko could disappear by leaving in a rush, I have the idea of writing on a piece of paper an invitation to have lunch with me. It was sort of a way to thank her for helping me, as I hadn’t done anything to show her I was grateful. Since she wasn’t sitting right by my side in this class, I have to ask the other students to pass it to her and feel like a high school student again. I notice she gets surprised once she receives the paper and looks towards me, suspecting I was the only one there who’d send her a message this way. Then, she nods quickly, stuffing my message inside her pencil case.

As soon as the professor dismisses us, I stuff my belongings in my bag and walk to her.

“I accepted your invitation but we need to be quick, I have some business to deal with.” She says in her usual serious tone.

“R-Right.” I nod.

We leave the class together and walk towards the entrance in a complete silence. She didn’t seem like the type who’d make small talk, so if I didn’t want to be forever in this awkward state, I was the one who should break the ice.

“Do you have classes in the afternoon?” I decide to ask.

“Not today.” She replies shortly.

“Then… What business do you have to deal with?”

“I need to investigate something.”

“Investigate?” I furrow my eyebrows.

“Yes. Just forget it, it’s nothing.” She brushes it off.

“But…”

“It’s no-thi-ng.” Her tone of voice was still calm and composed.

“Okay…” I chuckle nervously.

We arrive at the university restaurant and have to get in the huge line to be able to eat. Silence continues between us, since I didn’t really know what to ask her without making her angry at me… Until I decide to risk it by making one of the questions I’ve wanted to make her.

“Why are you always wearing gloves?” I spit it out.

“So you noticed…” She looks to her own hands, covered in black gloves adorned with studs.

“Y-Yeah, kind of hard to let it slip. No one wears gloves on a daily basis like that.”

She eyes me with a judgmental look.

“You’re always so honest?” For some reason, I sense that she finds it amusing.

“I, uh… I don’t know, I’m just curious. That’s all.”

“I see. Well, I’m going to tell you this one time, even though this is none of your business.” She nods, crossing her arms. “Simply put, I made a bad decision once because of someone I grew attached to. I was forced to learn a very powerful lesson, and these gloves are a daily reminder of that. So on these gloves, I swore to never make the same mistake again.”

She sounded so deep all of the sudden that I didn’t doubt that such experience was really hard on her.

“It was… An ex-boyfriend?” I try to pry.

“No.” She frowns, like I asked something ridiculous. “It was work-related, an old partner of mine.”

Work? She had a job while she was younger? Isn’t that a crime?

“What did you work with?”

She eyes me with an incredulous expression.

“I’m a detective.” She says, like I should know it already. “Have you never heard about the Kirigiri Detective Agency?”

“Uh…” Somehow she makes me feel embarrassed about now knowing. “I’m not very into the detective area…”

“This is common knowledge. You know my name; I believed you knew about it already.”

“So, is your father also a detective?”

“No. He abandoned our line.” She looks uncomfortable of talking about him. “Anyway, I told you even more than I’m used. Guess your naïve honesty got the best of me.”

“A-Ah, no! I mean… You can ask me anything you want as well.” I smile, trying to win her trust. “I have nothing to hide.”

“I figured. Therefore, I already know everything about you.”

“W-What?!” I gasp.

“I’m teasing you.” I see a faint of a smile across her lips. “But I did make my research about you, since I needed something to make us even.”

“Oh, yeah… What did you find out?”

“Nothing interesting. You’re pretty average.” She doesn’t make it sound like a bad thing, even though I felt bad about it.

“That’s great.” I roll my eyes.

“It really is. If I found any crime you committed, you’d be on your way to jail right now.”

I don’t even know what to answer to her supposedly affirmative statement, so I leave it at that.

After almost half an hour it’s finally our turn to eat. While I fill my plate with almost everything I can, Kyouko picks a big variety of vegetables and little portions of the healthiest dishes available. When we get a table, I feel bad while comparing our plates, feeling that I was having a mostly junk food lunch.

“You’re surely a person that worries about what they eat…” I say.

“I need to maintain my health in order to work better.” She explains. “I’ve learnt how to get the best from food.”

“I wish I knew how to do that.”

“You just need to find out the right diet according to your habits. It’s not that complicated.” She seemed to enjoy talking about this.

“One day I’ll try doing that.”

We finish our meals exchanging just a few comments about the food and classes in general. After we leave the restaurant, she excuses herself to go deal with her investigation, and like that, I find myself alone and without anything to do for the rest of the day.

Like… I had stuff to do, such as some papers… but coming back to my dorm and starting to do them right away didn’t seem like a good way of spending my afternoon. So, when I arrive there, I throw my bag on the floor and fall over my bed, considering my options. Then, I suddenly felt so sleepy that I can’t help closing my eyes, promising to just take a quick nap before doing something really useful…

I wake up 5 hours later, confused about my whereabouts and about what time it was. I take a few minutes to remember I dozed off after lunch and start cursing myself from not having done anything useful… At least, now I’d get a shower and try to get something done before sleeping on my proper time.

What I didn’t expect, though, was someone knocking on my door right after I finish my shower. Thinking it was okay to answer in my pajamas, I open the door, finding Kyouko wearing an all-black outfit outside.

“Upon throughout analyze, I realized I will need assistance for tonight’s mission.” She says, before I could even greet her. “Given the fact I’ve researched your past already, you’re my safest option. Would you help me?”

“Help? A mission?” I get confused with her words. “What are you up to?”

“You shall trust me and come with me without questioning. It’s your choice.”

I take a few seconds to understand what she meant, like she was talking in riddles.

“Okay, just wait until I put some clothes on…” I open my door for her to come in, in case she wanted.

“Pick dark clothes.” She instructs, walking in. “They’ll be best for this.”

Since questioning was not an option, I just grab any black shirt and pants and head back in the bathroom to dress them. We leave as soon as I’m done, with her leading our way a few steps ahead of me.

“Hey, we’re not going to do anything out of law, right?” I decide to ask, suddenly worrying about that. “I don’t want to be arrested…”

“Well, it could have such consequences…” She considers, with her expression unchanged.

“What, are you serious?” I jog a little to walk by her side.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get us out if it comes to that.”

“Are you a lawyer as well?” I tease, feeling the chills.

“I’m not, but, as a detective, I’m good in finding evidences in our behalf.”

“I don’t know if that relaxes me…”

“Just trust me.”

I don’t really know why I should, but given the fact that she trusted me, I guess it was only fair if I trusted her back.

She leads us towards the staff building, and the chills I was felling get even stronger. We walk to the side and reach a safety door, in which she uses a paper clip and some sort of metal tool to unlock it.

“I thought that was only possible in movies.” I watch her, shocked.

“This is general knowledge.” She says before grabbing a small flashlight in her pocket and handing me. “Light the way.”

Hesitating, I turn on the flashlight and follow her in the building. We close the door behind us and she guides me towards our destination.

“Here we are.” She points to the plate above a door, and when I light it, I realize it read Archive. “Light the lock for me.”

 I do as she asks and illuminate the lock so she could pick it like she did on the last door. Soon the door is open and we head inside. Piles of files were organized in dozens of shelves, making me gasp.

“Help me find the student files from this year’s entrance.” She asks me, turning on a lamp over the center table.

“You mean… Our student files?”

“Yes. I need one in particular.”

“From whom?” I press, feeling an odd sensation.

“You don’t need to know right now. When I find if what I suspect is true, I promise to let you know.”

Trusting her turned to be more tiring than I imagined. I decide to walk among the shelves, looking for said files, until we hear some metal noise coming from outside.

“It’s security.” Kyouko turns off the table light and rushes towards me to push me down on the floor, placing a hand over my mouth.

Her reaction makes me want to laugh on the inside. It was like I’d be stupid enough to speak anything while security was around… I mean, sometimes I do look stupid, but I wouldn’t do anything to harm myself.

Okay, maybe I would.

We listen to footsteps passing in front of the Archive door, but they continue going until they disappear on the other corridor. Only when Kyouko makes sure it’s safe she lets me go, standing up again.

“We need to be more careful.” She inhales deeply, seeming slightly nervous. “You better check the door while I search.”

“It’ll be quicker if I help you.”

“But we can’t risk being caught while we’re both inattentive.”

She had a point, so I just stand besides the door and keep my mind busy trying to hear any sound indicating the security was approaching. She walks around the shelves, checks a few files, until she apparently finds the one she needed and places it over the table.

“Found it?” I ask, curious.

She doesn’t answer, focused in reading whatever was inside. Then, she grabs her phone from her pocket and starts taking pictures of what she found, until finally she closes it and places it back on the shelf.

“Alright, now I need to find our entrance exams.” She walks towards another shelf. “I guess I saw something around here…”

“I don’t know if I should worry about your intentions or not.”

She doesn’t reply again, grabbing a big folder. She places it over the table and starts searching among the papers, that, from the cover, I recognized to be said exams. When she locates the one she wants, she takes pictures of the person’s thumb fingerprint that we all had to make on the front page as identification.

It was so weird.

“We’re done.” She closes the folder after placing the exam back inside and places it back on the shelf.

“You’re really not going to tell me anything, right?” I sigh.

“I told you, I’ll explain everything later.”

We make our way back out, being careful to not get caught by the security, and head back to the dorms in a complete silence. I was sort of pissed that she made me do these dangerous things with her and she wouldn’t even give me a hint of what was going on… but I needed to control myself and, well, trust her. After all, anytime now she could simply tell security that I invaded Leon’s dorm, and I bet she collected evidence of that to use against me in case she needed.

Guess I didn’t have an option.

“Thank you for your assistance tonight.” She says once we arrive in front of the dorm’s entrance.

“You’re welcome… Even though I wanted you to tell me something about it.” I look elsewhere but her.

“Please be patient.” She says in a soft tone, like she was genuinely trying to calm me down. “Well, I guess its goodnight for now.”

“Alright.” I sigh. “Goodnight as well.”

I follow behind her and head to my own dorm room, on the second floor, and not much later I was already sleeping soundly, probably exhausted from the mission she made me do.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lots of naegiri interaction on this one :D  
> Hope you enjoy!

A few days pass and my life almost seem back to normal. I become friends with Chihiro, a really nice guy who’s an awesome computer programmer, and we even begin a group project together for a class. He slightly told me that he also suffered from bullying because of his appearance, and I guess it was even worse than what I’ve been through. We kind of had that in common, so we could trust each other as people who’d never be judgmental.

Kyouko has lunch with us some of these days and, upon finding his programmer talent, says that she would require his assistance for investigations when she needed. I wanted to warn him that it could have dangerous consequences, but I end not saying anything. After all, I was learning that Kyouko wouldn’t do anything to harm the ones she began to trust.

Or, at least I expected that.

Sayaka tried talking to me a few more times, but eventually the stuff we had to talk remembering school time start getting less and less interesting. Leon was attending classes again, but he didn’t even look on my direction anymore, probably afraid of ending in trouble another time.  It was better this way.

On the next day, by the end of my class, Kyouko suddenly appears in front of my desk.

“Come quick. I have a mission.”

“Seriously?” I frown. “It’s lunch time…”

“It won’t take long. I’ll pay your lunch afterwards.” She negotiates.

“Okay, so where are we heading?” I quickly stand up, convinced about having free lunch.

“You’ll see. We have around an hour, starting from now.”

She leads the way, taking us towards the dorms building. I don’t even bother making questions since she wouldn’t reply anyway, so I just follow her silently.

We walk to the third floor and stop in front of a door decorated with dozens of drawings of a weird bear. Kyouko instructs me to watch the corridor as she uses her lock pick instruments at the door, but there were no signs of anyone around probably because it was lunch time. Soon she gets the door open and we walk inside.

“I guess now we are even, you’re also invading someone’s dorm.” I joke as she starts looking over the person’s belongings.

“Pay attention to the door. If you hear footsteps, tell me straight away.” She instructs seriously.

“Yes ma’am.” I straighten up, nodding.

She continues her search. I still had no idea whose dorm room we were in, but once Kyouko opens the closet, a lacy bra falls on the floor and I realize it had to belong to a girl.

“How can people be so disorganized?” She searches under the clothes and in the corners.

“What are you exactly looking for?” I ask her, curious. “I know you’re not going to tell me who this dorm belongs to, but at least that…”

“A name, a photograph… Anything that can prove my suspicions.”

“A name?”

“Yes. From their sibling.” She tells me that and clicks her tongue, like she shouldn’t have said so much. “You’re distracting me.”

“Sorry.”

I sense frustration growing inside her as she doesn’t seem to find anything she needs. While she searched a drawer, though, I hear footsteps coming, followed by a loud voice that even Kyouko, that wasn’t by the door, heard.

“She’s coming.” She closes the drawer in a rush.

“What do we do? She’ll notice her door is unlocked!”

Kyouko takes a glance around and suddenly drags me inside her closet. I don’t even know how, but we manage to squeeze into it, though almost making all the clothes hanging fall down. I guess I’ve never been pressed so close to someone as I was now.

“Oh my gosh, you didn’t!” The owner of the room walks in apparently in a rush. I recognize instantly the voice, finding it very weird. “Damn, I forgot my door unlocked… Oh well. Tell me everything right now!”

It was none less but Junko, our fashionista classmate. As she was talking alone, I figure she was probably on the phone with someone. We can hear her rummaging through her stuff and I start praying that she doesn’t decide to change clothes right now... Then, Kyouko fidgets a bit in front of me, apparently not being able to stay in her uncomfortable position anymore, and she ends nudging me on the belly with her elbow. I have to swallow a cry in pain, and as I suffer, her hair ends in my mouth and eyes. I couldn’t wait until this was over, positively or negatively.

“Okay, okay, alright! I’m coming!” Junko says, laughing. “I’m just dropping my bag in my room… I was going to change clothes, but nah, my outfit it’s too A+ to wear just for class.”

We hear her voice distancing, and then the door opens and closes. Only when we hear her locking it and get completely sure she left that Kyouko opens the door, allowing us to breath.

“I thought I was going to die.” I finally touch the spot in my belly that Kyouko hit. “This was painful.”

“I’m sorry about the nudge.” Kyouko says, passing a hand through her hair to fix it. “But it was worth it.”

She walks to the bed and picks the bag over it, already opening and searching inside.

“As I imagined, her laptop is here.” Kyouko almost smiles as she sits on the bed and unlocks the device, already browsing to check what she needed.

Finding out who we were investigating makes me feel disoriented, so I had to clear things with Kyouko.

“Kyouko, why are you investigating Junko?” I ask straightforwardly.

“I’m going to explain everything soon.” Kyouko grabs her phone and starts taking photos of the screen.

“She’s our classmate… I don’t feel like this is a nice thing to do.” I say, feeling bad. “We should talk to her about whatever is going on.”

“We can’t talk to her.” Kyouko closes the laptop and places it back inside her bag. “She can’t know, or everything will be ruined.”

“What even is everything?” I sigh, not hiding my frustration.

“Calm down.” She stands up. “Let’s go, we can’t continue here for too long.”

Kyouko has to pick the door again so we could leave, and we close it behind our backs hoping Junko wouldn’t realize that it ended unlocked again.

We head downstairs in silence. I was still bothered by Kyouko not telling me anything, so I couldn’t take it off my mind and pretend everything was well. Once we step outside I call her, impatient.

“You don’t trust me, right? You just need my help, but don’t really trust me.” I mumble.

“It’s not like that.”

“Then tell me what I am risking my university life for! I chose to trust you, can’t you try trusting me as well?”

“I do trust you, otherwise I wouldn’t be even asking for your help. I actually told you more than I ever told anyone in a long time, being it about me or this case.” She steps closer to me and grabs my hand, squeezing it softly. “I know you’re upset, but we are close to finding out the truth. You just need to endure it a little more before things are cleared.”

The way she talks to me, seeming so secure and reassuring, manages to calm down my confused mind. This is why I trusted her, she seemed always sure of what she was doing, so there was no reason to doubt her. Besides… I guess I could consider her my best university friend, right? As much as she was distant, she was the one I was closer to.

“Okay, I’m sorry.” I pass my other hand through my hair. “I’ll be patient.”

“Thank you.” She releases my hand, with a hint of a smile on her face.

“Now…” I cross my arms, lifting an eyebrow. “Where’s the lunch you promised me?”

“Very well, let’s have it.”

Our lunch together turns to be so pleasing that I almost forget she’s hiding that amount of secrets from me. It seemed like she was cooling down around me each day we spent together, even though she was still not much of a speaker and her face was always serious. But the way she looked at me was indeed different. It was softer, like I managed to get a little through her tough mask.

After we have lunch, I head back to my dorm room to rest and work on some papers I couldn’t postpone anymore. When it’s already dark outside, I decide to take a shower as a break and head straight back to my papers from it… Until someone knocked on my door.

By the sound and force used, I knew very well who it was.

“Come with me for a run.” As I expected, Kyouko was on the other side, wearing a sports outfit with a hoodie covering her face.

“Now?” I frown. “It’s dark, we’ll fall in the sidewalk’s holes.”

“Running at night had been proven great for your health.” She insists, crossing her arms. “Get out here, we don’t have much time.”

“Is this another mission?”

“No, it’s not a mission. I just want your company for a run.”

I ponder for a few seconds, but, with a sigh, I end accepting it. It was pretty obvious that she had more on her mind than just a run, but I was too damn curious to simply let it go.

“Alright, let me just… change into something that’s not my pajamas…” I roll my eyes.

I let her in my room while I change clothes in the bathroom, and not much later we leave together for the run. She sprints quickly in front of me, seeming like she was in a hurry, and I struggle to follow her pace without being left behind.

“Where are we actually going?” I ask her, between gasps for air, when we stop by a red traffic light.

“You’ll soon see.” She continues pacing at the same spot, until the light turns green and we continue our way.

She leads us into the residential area of the town. I observe the houses, curious since I’ve never been to this zone, until she abruptly invades a particular’s house front grass and heads straight to a tree.

“W-Where are you going?” I run behind her, afraid someone would see us there. “We can’t be so close to the house like this…”

Ignoring me completely, she jumps over the tree and climbs up some branches. She finds a good position and looks straight to one of the first floor windows of the house.

“Right in time.” She says mostly to herself.

“For what?” I ask, confused.

She was obviously not going to explain anything to me, so if I wanted to find out, I had to see with my own eyes. I try jumping up the tree like she did and it proves to be way harder than I expected, but after a few trials I manage to climb it and reach a branch below the one she was sitting over.

“Okay, what’s so interesting in that house?” I mumble, tired.

That’s when I finally focus on the scene occurring there. It was a dining room, and a family was happily having a conversation while enjoying their meal. The father was helping the mother to serve her plate, while their very young daughter was excitingly telling them something.

“Who are they?” I ask her, not really expecting her to answer.

“… That’s my father.” She says quietly, voice weak.

Realization strikes me painfully after she tells me that. So the headmaster had another family…

“So your parents are divorced?”

“My mom died when I was little, and right after that, my father abandoned me with my grandfather because he didn’t want anything to do with our detective business.” She explains calmly, as much as it probably hurts her to talk about this. “I didn’t see him for years until I came to Hope’s Peak.”

How could he abandon Kyouko like that? I was in utter shock.

“Didn’t he even call?”

“He did. But I stopped picking the phone after a while. In fact, I’ve never missed him in my life, so it doesn’t make any difference for me that he left.” She says piercingly. “It was actually for the best, because if it wasn’t for him abandoning me, my grandfather wouldn’t have the opportunity of teaching me everything he knows about being a detective, and now I’m going to succeed him in the Kirigiri Agency.”

“That’s… cool.” I say, even though I felt sad for her growing up missing both of her parents. “So why were you looking for him on the first day?”

“I was going to thank him for leaving me with my grandfather, and also, I was going to cut ties completely with him.”  

“That’s pretty harsh, don’t you think?”

“I needed some sort of closure.” She says smartly. “But then, I got into his office and saw a picture of his new family over the table… it filled me with a bitter sensation that I never expected to have. It was good that he wasn’t there at that moment, I realized he doesn’t deserve any sort of account from me.”

I could only imagine what was going through Kyouko’s head while watching that scene. As Kyouko probably already knew from what she researched about me, my family was also pretty average. My father and my mother were always present, and we had our little arguments but it never was that important. And I was pretty close with my sister, having little to no problem with her. I had no idea how it’d be like if I didn’t have this support at home…

“I guess that’s enough, I just wanted to see it with my own eyes.” Kyouko sighs, turning her glance elsewhere but the house. “Let’s leave.”

I don’t say anything to oppose and climb down the tree with her following behind me. As soon as she reaches the ground, she sprints again without waiting for me, so I have to run like nuts to reach her.

Her expression was still stoic, but I knew she was feeling broken inside. Of course, seeing that scene must have been damn hard, even for a strong person like her.

“How did you know they were having dinner now?” I ask between my gasps for air as we run.

“He invited me, after his secretary told him I’ve been to his office.”

“Wha—Why didn’t you come?”

“Such invitation only offended me. I have no interest in approaching his new family.”

We continue in silence until we reach back our dorm building. She stops running in front of the entrance and catches her breath.

“Well, thank you for coming with me.” She says quickly as I stop besides her. “I’m off now. Good night.”

“W-Wait!” I call, before she walked away. “Can I ask you something?”

She looks at me curiously, hinting that she allowed me to make my question.

“Why did you ask me to come with you?”

“To be honest, I knew you would prevent me from doing anything stupid.” She crosses her arm, staring at the ground.

“What would you do?” I giggle nervously. “Knock on the window and start yelling?”

“Not that stupid.” She smirks. “I guess… It was mostly because I enjoy your company. You make me calm, somehow.”

I know I shouldn’t feel happy after tonight’s events, but hearing her being so sincere fills me with a warm feeling.

“Thank you for trusting me.” I smile to her. “Y-You can count with me for anything else.”

“I will.” I spot a faint of smile on her lips. “Now, if you excuse me, I need to take a shower and rest for tomorrow’s classes.”

“Y-Yes, me too, actually.” I chuckle, passing a hand through my hair. “Goodnight, Kyouko.”

“Goodnight, Makoto.”

I watch as she enters the building and disappears on the stairways, feeling fuzzy inside. Cursing myself for feeling that way, I shake my head and enter the building before her, heading back to my dorm room.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, chapter 5 already! Get ready for another mission~  
> Hope you enjoy this chapter n_n

I didn’t have any prospect of something to do on the next weekend. I was going to ask Kyouko out somewhere, since we both could enjoy a little relaxing time, but she disappears after class on Friday and doesn’t respond any of my texts. I would be freaking out right now if it was someone else, but it wasn’t the first time she has disappearing moments like this… They never lasted more than a day, though. But I force myself to believe she was probably investigating something and would soon appear.

Well, if she didn’t, I swear I’d have a stroke.

At least, for my luck, I go out for a walk on Saturday morning and meet Chihiro, and we both end going to the arcade downtown to test some of the new games there. It was so fun that I completely distract myself, forgetting to check my phone every 10 minutes to see if Kyouko had replied.

Once I go back to my dorm, though, worry comes back to me as she hadn’t replied yet. Did something happen? I try calling her number, but it falls on voicemail. I fall in my bed, consumed by a terrible feeling, until I end sleeping…

And wake up a couple of hours later, with someone knocking on my door. Feeling a sudden strike of hope, I jolt up from the bed and run to open it.

“Kyouko!” I almost cry upon seeing her there.

“Are you alright?” She frowns at me.

Just then I notice how she was dressing, like she was about to go out to dance all night.

“Where are you going?” I giggle, not expecting to ever see her with such tight dress and sparkly jacket.

“We are going clubbing.” She crosses her arms seriously. “This is a mission. Get ready.”

“Uh…” My face turns into a shocked expression. “I don’t think I have an outfit for that…”

“I’ll help you.” She steps into my room with her giant platforms clicking on the floor. “We got to be quick.”

“Okay, alright…” I close the door and look to her. “But first, where were you? I sent you dozens of texts and even tried calling you, but only managed to reach voicemail!”

“Oh.” With a frown, she quickly grabs her phone from her hand purse. “Sorry, I left it on silent mode for our last mission and forgot it that way.”

“Are you serious?” She’d drive me crazy. “That was days ago.”

“Were you worried about me?” She lifts an eyebrow.

“Of course I was! What if you went investigating something without me and got hurt?” I explain, waving my hands in the air. “Don’t leave me in the dark like that.”

She takes a few seconds to reply, apparently contemplating my flustered state.

“Alright, I apologize. It won’t happen again.” She lowers her head, pulling her hair behind her ear.

“Good.” I nod, happy that she seemed to understand how I felt.

“Now go get ready, we don’t have all night.” She instructs, sitting on my bed. “Our target will be attending there and I don’t know the right time, so we need to arrive right when it opens.”

“Right…” I nod, unsure about this new mission.

I go over my wardrobe showing her different combinations that I thought would fit for this situation, but she denies all of them claiming that they were too simple for a club. Wondering what her vision of an actual club was, I find a silver and white striped shirt. Kyouko seems to like it and matches it with my dark skinny jeans and my black vest.

“Seems like this will do. Go get dressed.” She eyes the outfit over the bed, satisfied.

Once I’m ready and leave the bathroom, she insists there was still something missing and finds a scarf and a hat I never wore to put on me.

“You’re having fun with this, aren’t you?” I tease.

“Good detectives can disguise themselves well. We can’t just appear in a club poorly dressed, everyone will notice we weren’t supposed to be there.” She explains calmly.

“You always have a point…” I sigh.

We leave shortly later and decide to head to the club by feet, since it wasn’t that far from the university’s campus. In around half an hour we’re there already, waiting in the front line to get in. Seeing those people all dressed up and apparently already drunk start making me anxious, and as I look to Kyouko, I sense through her indifferent expression that she’s feeling uneasy as well.

Once we’re in, Kyouko guides us among the people to search for her target. She tells me quickly that it was a tall young woman, who had short black hair and blue eyes. I try locating someone who’d fit that description, until my eyes fall on the couches at the back of the club.

“Hey, isn’t that her?” I softly hold Kyouko’s arm, pointing to where I was looking.

“I believe so.” Kyouko nods.

We walk towards her, finding her turning a beer bottle like it was water.

“Hey.” Kyouko says, making her glance towards us.

“Oh my gosh, you’re so pretty!” The girl stands up, kind of tipsy.

She, then, pulls Kyouko by both arms and, before she could avoid, kisses her fully on the lips. I only gasp, too surprised to take any action. I had no idea what Kyouko had in mind with this mission, maybe this was part of the plan… Even though it does makes me uncomfortable for her.

But, once Kyouko manages to pull away, her expression is infuriated. I’ve never seen her express any bold reaction like that, so I guess it really wasn’t on her plans.

“Anyway… You’re Mukuro Ikusaba, aren’t you?” Kyouko breaths in and regains her composure.

“Yes, that’s right.” Mukuro smiles lightly. “How do you know my name?”

“Are you Junko Enoshima’s twin sister?” I gasp again at the question. Now that I analyzed, Mukuro did resemble Junko, ignoring the obvious differences such as her freckles and hair color.

“Oh, you know my sister?” Mukuro tries to approach Kyouko again, but she lifts her arm to keep a safe distance. “How is she doing? She never answers my texts…”

“She seems… Fine.” Kyouko eyes around. “Why do you two have different surnames?”

“Oh, that… Everyone asks us that, my dear Junko always gets annoyed by it… And now she doesn't answer anymore! I guess I can't as well...” She seems infatuated as she mentions Junko, which I find sort of weird, to say at least. I’d never mention my sister’s name in a tone like that…

“You seem to love your sister a lot.” Kyouko asks her, noticing the same as me.

“Yes, she’s everything to me! Everyone says she’s actually mean to me, but that’s just her way of showing her affection…”

“So, you can say you’d do anything for your sister? Even if it ended harming yourself?”

“Harming myself?” Mukuro chuckles. “I’d die for her without a second of hesitation. She’s everything I have.”

“Well, I guess I have no further questions for you.” Kyouko crosses her arms and turns to me. “Let’s go.”

“Hey, don’t you want to stay?” Mukuro calls. “I promise to be as good to you as I am to my sister!”

“I pass.” Kyouko shakes her head and grabs my arm, dragging me along.

We exit the club and Kyouko takes a long, deep breath.

“I had an idea I wouldn’t enjoy such places, but they’re even worse in reality.” She closes her eyes, relieved. “But we managed to get what we needed.”

“So… Junko has a twin?” I say, still quite surprised. “What does she has with the thing you’re investigating?”

“Everything.” Kyouko starts walking down the sidewalk and I follow her.

“So everything you suspected is right?”

“Yes. I still wish I could get the ultimate evidence, but the evidences I gathered so far are enough to prove they’re both guilty.”

“Right.” I nod. “So… Can you explain me the whole case now? You promised to tell me as soon as you confirmed everything…”

“I guess I did promise you that.” She crosses her arms. “Alright, I’ll tell you. But not tonight.”

“What? Why?” I cry, frustrated.

“This night was too eventful for me already, I guess we should rest and talk properly another time.”

Did she… Could it be that it was about that kiss? Her expression seemed stoic as always, so couldn’t figure what was going on inside her head.

“Do you want to sit down somewhere to talk?” I suggest, out of the blue. “Not about this case, I mean… Just talk.”

She eyes me curiously, like what I was proposing seemed really unexpected. But, then, she chuckles softly, getting me surprised.

“Alright, I suppose a change of pace is necessary, sometimes…”

We start walking back to our dorms and eventually, on the way, find a nice spot over some grass that we could look to the sky without many constructions around. We sit down and stay quiet for some minutes, only enjoying the silence of the night. Kyouko eventually removes her platforms and feels the grass under her feet, action that makes me feel a little fuzzy inside. It was cute to see her relaxed like that, and it made me especially happy that she was in that state with me by her side. With a smile, I do the same, removing my shoes and feeling the cool grass under my feet.

“This feels nice.” She says after a while, stretching her shoulders. “It’s been a while since I last simply stopped like.”

“Yeah.” I agree. “You need to do this a few times, it’s not good overworking yourself.”

“You’re right. But I guess I wouldn’t be able to do this alone, my mind tends to drift through all the things I still need to solve…” She puts her hair behind her ear. “Guess having you around allows me to relax better.”

“Then count on me!” I smile to her. “Call me anytime you need a break like this.”

“I will.” She smiles softly.

I guess I’ve never seen her smiling like this. All I could get were a few hints of a smile, but I could barely differentiate them for her always stoic expression. It was a rare sight I felt honored to see.

“What?” She asks after a few seconds, and then I finally notice I was staring into her face.

“A-Ah, sorry!” My face burns as I lower my head, embarrassed. “It’s just… Your smile was really cute.”

“Cute? Are you trying to deceive me?” She frowns. “You’re so cruel.”

“T-That’s not it!” I look to her again, feeling desperate.

“That was completely out of character. You thought I wouldn't pick up on such an obvious play?”

“I wasn’t—I’m being honest!”

Then, she suddenly breaks in a light chuckle and I finally understand she was the one deceiving me. My heart feels funny as I chuckle with her.

“Thank you.” She says as she regains her composure. “To be quite honest, I didn’t feel very well after tonight. I guess I’m not a very good detective, after all…”

“What do you mean?” I frown. “You’re awesome; I’ve never seen anyone doing the things you do! To find evidences and build a case like that… You’re the most intelligent person I know!”

“Well, thank you. But I’m afraid it isn’t enough… A true detective will do anything it takes to solve the mystery in their front, without letting any of it affect their feelings.”

“You…” She was obviously talking about the kiss, so I guess it wasn’t a problem to mention it straightforwardly. “You were taken by surprise. You didn’t expect Mukuro to simply jump in you…”

“Yes, but I should be prepared to anything while investigating, even if it is… intimate like that.”

Yeah, it was really troubling her. Of course, her furious expression when she pulled Mukuro away wasn’t anything like what I’ve seen on her.

“I’ve never cared about this, but… For some reason, it frustrates me that I’ll remember my first kiss as being with someone that was proven guilty in my case.” She chuckles bitterly. “And while I was on a mission… I wish my personal life never got mixed with work, but I’m not used to physical intimacy, so I can’t help letting it affect me.”

“I guess you shouldn’t consider it.” I suggest, hoping the idea would make her feel better. “Like you said, you were investigating. That was your detective persona acting… it wasn’t you and your real feelings. So you can simply ignore that kiss as being part of your work.”

“You’re right.” She glances towards me. “I’ll try following your suggestion.”

Our eyes fixate on each other for more than a few seconds. For some reason, I start feeling butterflies on my stomach, and I notice what could be a slight hint of blush in Kyouko’s cheeks – if it wasn’t my mind playing tricks on me.

“I guess we should head back now.” Kyouko suddenly breaks eye contact, passing a hand through her hair.

“R-Right.” I gulp nervously.

I’d never completely understand what that was just now. But, somehow, we manage to continue our walk back to the dorms without feeling awkward and even talk about some other things, like our impressions about the club. We both agree that it wasn’t a place we’d enjoy going, given the loud music, the claustrophobic feeling and the amount of people…

Once by the dorm’s entrance, we bid short good nights to each other and I find myself watching as she walks in, feeling sort of dazed… But soon I snap back to reality, slapping my cheeks for thinking about her in such way. She’s my dear friend, and that’s it.

Forcing to believe that, I head to my dorm, anxious to get some sleep after today’s events.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some mysteries are revealed on this chapter!  
> I hope you enjoy reading <3

I spend the next day annoying Kyouko over texts telling her that she still needed to explain me about the case, in which she replies saying that she’d tell me as soon as she came back from meeting her grandfather. I didn’t have anything to do, so I stroll around campus and eventually find Hina, who invites me for donuts with her.

That night, when I was already getting ready to sleep, I hear knocks on the door and answer it the fastest I can. Kyouko was on the other side as expected, but dressing her black pajamas and carrying a pillow.

“Hey.” I greet her, kind of confused.

“Hey.” She moves past me, into my room. “I figured that if I’m going to tell you everything it might get too late, so it’s easier if I just stay here until morning.”

“Right.” I nod, feeling my face warm. “But… I just have one bed.”

“I figured. We may just sleep in opposite directions.” She heads to my bed and places her pillow on the opposite side from mine.

“If it’s okay with you, then I guess it’s okay with me…”

Before I settle in bed, I head to the bathroom to brush my teeth. While inspecting myself in the mirror, I pass a hand through my hair, trying to fix it a bit… not that I really needed to worry about these things with Kyouko, but I just felt like looking a little nicer, for some reason.

I exit the bathroom and find her already all settled on her side of the bed, reading a book I had lying around. I carefully sit on the other side and cover myself with the blanket, being careful to keep a distance between our bodies since we’re sharing the same covers.

“You may turn off the lights and turn on your bed lamp instead.” She suggests, putting the book back where she found it.

“Right.” I do as she says, making the ambient nicer to sleep.

“So, I guess I shall start explaining the case from the very beginning.” She says softly yet seriously, like she was kind of nervous of actually telling me this.

“Yes.” I nod firmly, anxious.

“Well, on the entrance exam day, the girl sitting by my side was, supposedly, Junko Enoshima. I don’t usually observe people, much less during an important event, but she was acting quite odd and I can’t help activating my detective skills to get suspicious that she was up to something. That is proven right the moment they hand us our tests and instruct us on how to mark our fingerprints in the front page… She uses a rubber cover around her thumb to do it, containing Junko’s real fingerprint on it. That’s the ultimate evidence I mentioned, but there’s no way I can find that… She probably destroyed it already.”

“What?” I frown. “So… It wasn’t actually Junko but… Mukuro?”

“Yes.” Kyouko nods. “That’s one of the reasons I needed to see her at the club. Besides questioning her, I needed to see her face in person to compare with the one I remember from Junko on the exam day. The freckles and eye size match. It was, in fact, Mukuro, but she was dressed as her sister.”

“But…” There was still something missing there. “If you saw Mukuro covering her thumb with that rubber thing on the exam day, why didn’t you call security right away?”

“Well, that’s because…” Kyouko inhales. “That was everything I needed, actually.”

“What?” I frown, confused. 

“My intention, from the moment I registered for the entrance exam, was getting in to bring down Hope’s Peak University.”

I don’t even have words to say. So this was Kyouko’s plan all along? She wanted to destroy this University? For what reason?

“Seeing Mukuro doing that, right by my side, was like winning the lottery. My plans consisted on investigating from the inside for any irregularities, but since she did that, I didn’t have to go that far anymore. All I need to do now is gathering evidences and exposing to the media how a student got in without doing the entrance exam.”

“And how you’re going to do that?”

“It’s simple. I took pictures of the fingerprint Mukuro made on the exam day and the one from the real Junko, that she made on the day she came to complete her registration. There are many differences between them indicating that one wasn’t made by a real finger, and that only could make the police build a case to investigate further. With the media already knowing… It wouldn’t take long until Hope’s Peak starts losing influence and students. It would be doomed to end, eventually.”

This was too much for my head to comprehend so suddenly. She has such a cruel plan in mind… Where did so much hate come from?

“Is this revenge because of your father?” I ask, knowing I might be stepping in an uncomfortable zone.

She takes a few seconds to reply.

“It’s not as simple as that. As much as I’m not on good terms with him, I can’t understand how such institution can continue being prominent even after so many years.” She explains vaguely. “There’s got to be something really wrong going on, like a misuse of public money or anything like that.”

“Well, this is a government institution… There could be irregularities like that, but the university is doing so well that it doesn’t seem very probable.”

“Yes, but… something still doesn’t feel right.” She lowers her head, seeming confused.

“But… For that reason, you’re going to try bringing it down altogether?” I frown at the idea. “This doesn’t match you, Kyouko. As a detective, you should be fair in your decisions…”

“It’s not like I’m making anything up. Junko did get in without taking the entrance exam herself, and the fact that no one found out about it already shows that this institution doesn’t take seriously their selection exam.” She says firmly. “And to think that it is the most competitive of the country, I feel like all students are being deceived.”

“You’re right, but… Shouldn’t you take your evidences to your father, instead? Then he’d solve that issue, and maybe the university would start being more rigorous on the exam…”

“That’s completely impossible. I would never hand him my investigation.”

“Then send it anonymously, like you sent the video of Leon insulting me…” I insist. “I don’t feel like it's right simply exposing it to the media.”

She falls in silence, looking torn.

“I have everything ready to expose it.”

“Please, don’t do that… At least, try talking to your father beforehand.”

“I have nothing to discuss with him.”

“Think about all students who are studying right now dreaming of getting in this university… We should focus on making it better, not destroying it. The entrance exam can become fair if we decide to help.”

“I don’t want to discuss this anymore.” She, then, abruptly lies down, turning her face to the wall. “I’m going to sleep.”

I knew my words reached her, otherwise she wouldn’t have had such reaction. Breathing in, I decide to lie down as well.

“Good night, Kyouko.” I say, not expecting her to say anything in reply.

“Good night, Makoto.” Her wish comes in a soft mumble, meaning she wasn’t really angry with me for opposing her intentions.

Well, we were supposed to sleep… But I find myself rolling from one side to the other for a couple of hours, thinking about her plans. There should be another way to solve these things, without being as drastic as exposing everything to the media… As much as the university could have a more rigid security on the exam, the main fault was on Junko and Mukuro, for planning and doing such scheme…

As my head floats on those thoughts, I feel Kyouko fidgeting in her position as well, although much less than I was. I’d suspect I was keeping her up with my constant movements, but there are a few times in which she almost sits up just to fix her hair from a side to the other…

I guess we were both having a tough night dealing with our inner thoughts.

“Hey, Kyouko…” I call in a whisper. “Are you still awake?”

“Yeah.” Her voice sounds completely normal, like she didn’t manage to sleep for even a second in these hours.

“Are you uncomfortable?” I sit up, worried. “I mean… If that’s what’s keeping you awake, I can make a bed for me on the floor…”

“No, it’s not that.” She sees me up and does the same, sitting in my front. “My mind just… doesn’t allow me to.”

“I understand.” I try to smile apologetically. It was just as I suspected. “Do you want to talk about something to distract yourself?”

“That would be a good idea.” She nods, passing her hands through her hair. “What do you suggest?”

“Well…” I think.

Going back on our latest conversations, we talked about the case and her father, two prohibited issues right now.  Before that, we talked about the club… And that kiss. I wonder if it would be a good idea bringing that up again, but before I can come to a conclusion, I’m already talking about it.

“So, are you feeling better from, uh… The club incident?” I call it that way, trying to not make a big deal out of it.

“Now that you mention it… that specific incident didn’t cross my mind again, yet, another one from that same night got me wondering for a while.” She places her hand under her chin, thinking.

Another incident from the same night? What was she talking about?

“Did something else happen?” I say, flustered.

“Yes. And you know it very well.” Her gaze locks with mine, somewhat threatening. “That moment on the grass, were you going to kiss me if I didn’t interrupt?”

“W-What?!” My face burns up. “N-No…! I was just trying to be nice, I wouldn’t-- I wouldn’t take advantage of the situation, with you still feeling bad about that—“

“I suspected.” She closes her eyes, nodding. “I wouldn’t take you for the kind of person to do that, actually.”

“That’s good. I—You’re important to me, Kyouko. I’d never do anything to disrespect you.”

“I see.” She looks to me again. “Well, but upon deeper thought afterwards, I guess it wouldn’t have been a bad idea kissing you, actually.”

“H-Huh?” I died and ascended to heaven, it seems.

“In other words, to erase the memory from that kiss, I guess kissing someone I actually care about would be very efficient.”

She couldn’t be real.

“Are you teasing me?” I ask, chuckling nervously.

“I might be.” She shrugs, looking to the ceiling and seeming slightly insecure. “I guess it depends on your answer.”

“Kyouko…” I cry, confused. “Please be clear, I’m going nuts here.”

“Alright.” She breaths in. “Makoto, can we kiss?”

Okay, she really meant what she meant. I could swear my heart stopped in my chest in that moment.

“I—“ I stutter, turning red. “I’ve also never kissed anyone.”

“Would it be alright for me to be your first as well?” She asks it so formally that it only makes me more nervous.

“I—I think so.” I mumble almost incomprehensibly.

We look to each other for a few seconds, not saying anything and not invading each other’s personal spaces. Kyouko is… I avoided thinking about her in any other way but as a friend, since I don’t really have self esteem to consider having a chance with anyone especially after everything with Sayaka… But she’s beyond gorgeous. To be friends with such an intelligent, skilled and amazing person would always be more than enough for me.

Not that this meant we were going to become something else. She did say she wanted to kiss someone she cares about; it didn’t mean she actually likes me that way…

I was just going to help my friend overcoming a bad situation she’s been through. That’s it.

With that in mind, I take a deep breath before sliding closer to her. She finds a better position with me now by her side and looks into my eyes, expectant. Then, we inch closer to each other, closing our eyes in the process… Until our lips touch.

It lasts for a few second until we break apart for a few inches, opening our eyes. I notice her cheeks were reddish and her expression hid her anxiety. I decide to lift my hand and gently cup her face, feeling how warm she was, and carefully caress her cheek. I guess she takes that as a clue to inch closer again, which I correspond and soon we’re kissing again. But it was different. We… it was like that first kiss was just a test. This one was a real kiss.

She places her gloved hand over my face as well, like she was scooting me even closer, and I answer to that by trying to make way for my tongue to meet hers…

And when they do meet, my mind goes blank.

Let’s just say it was good.

Once we’re done with each other’s face, a few kisses later, we straighten up, taking our breaths and trying to calm our hearts.

“This was nice.” Kyouko says first, and when I look to her, I find her nibbling on her lower lip, still in a deep reddish tone from the kissing.

“I-It really was.” I stutter nervously, feeling out of air again.

“I guess I can consider that as forgotten already.” She tilts her head, and I understand she didn’t even want to mention it.

“That’s good.” I smile sheepishly. “It’ll always be a treasure for me that my first kiss was with you.”

“For me as well.” She smiles back. “I guess I’m able to sleep now.”

“Okay.” I nod, sliding back to my side of the bed.

“Good night, Makoto.” She says as she lies down, covering herself with the blanket.

“Good night, Kyouko.” I say softly, feeling warm inside.

While trying to sleep, my mind wanders around the feeling of kissing her... It surely gave me butterflies. But that's just because she's very dear to me, and sharing this intimacy with her was a nice experience. Besides, I felt quite honored that she trusted me to this extend, and I couldn't wish more than this.

I just wanted us to continue being close and understanding each other.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beware, there's a good amount of fluff on this chapter as well!  
> Hope you enjoy it <3

The morning after that eventful night feels like the world suddenly turned into a better place. The yelling of the birds in my window suddenly sounded like a beautiful melody, the prospect of having classes for the entire week seems exciting… Everything was well. 

I sit up, stretching my back, and see that Kyouko still slept over her side, hiding half of her face under the blanket. Being careful to not wake her up, I leave the bed and head to my wardrobe to start getting ready for today. We still had plenty of time before our first class, so I could allow her to get some more sleep.

When I’m almost done getting ready, Kyouko starts fidgeting on the bed, slowly waking up. She rolls around and opens her eyes, apparently trying to take in her surroundings, and I smile once her eyes find me.

“Good morning.” I greet her brightly.

“What time is it?” She asks with her voice still hoarse, which I find kind of cute.

“7:30am.”

“It’s still early… She stretches, enjoying the free space on the bed since I left. “Why are you up already?”

“I woke up naturally... But I wanted to let you sleep a little more, since we still have time.” I chuckle.

“You should have called me.” She sits up, yawning. “I need to go back to my dorm to get ready.”

“If you want to…” I say nervously as she stands up, grabbing her pillow. “We can meet in front of the building once you’re ready to go to class together.”

She analyzes me for a few seconds, making me nervous. Not knowing how to react, I smile widely, making her chuckle.

“You're interesting, Makoto. But that sounds like a good idea.” She finally agrees, still chuckling. “I’ll try to be quick.”

"Right." I blush. “Text me when you’re ready to go.”

“Alright.”

Kyouko walks to the door and leaves my room, and so I finally can openly react about last night. And by that, I meant jumping around in my room until I finally decided to make my bed and finish getting ready to class.

When she texts me saying that she’d be downstairs in 5 minutes, I storm out of my room and stand outside waiting anxiously for her. The next person who leaves the dorms isn’t her, though; it’s Hina.

“Good morning, Makoto!” She greets me, waving her hand.

“Oh, good morning, Hina!” I smile at her.

“You seem extra happy today.” She giggles as if she knew something. “Are you waiting for Kyouko?”

“Uh…” I frown, confused as to why she knew that. “Yes, actually…”

“I knew it. You two look cute together.” She sounds supporting, somehow.

“W-What do you mean?” I stutter.

“I saw her early in the morning leaving your room and she told me you two slept together.”

I gasp at her words, feeling my heart stopping.

“N-No! That’s not it!” My face burns.

“That’s not?” Hina tilts her head, confused. “She seemed so serious…”

“She did sleep in my room, but that was it, sleeping!” I explain nervously. “It’s a misunderstanding…”

“Oh… So you two aren’t… You know…” She makes some weird gestures, making me even more embarrassed.

“No!” I tap my own forehead.

“Oh well, that’s a shame. But you do like her, don’t you?”

“I—“

Luckily I’m interrupted by the door opening, and Kyouko finally arrives.

“Kyouko…” I look to her with a desperate expression.

“What happened?” Kyouko sounds stoic as always.

“N-Nothing!” Hina waves her hand in the air. “I’ve just misunderstood what you told me.”

“Was there anything to misunderstand?” She seems clueless.

“J-Just forget about it.” I interrupt. “We better go to class now.”

We walk together towards the main building, having Sakura and Chihiro joining us on the way. The morning follows in a pretty average way; we sit at class to wait for our teacher while chatting about anything at all and exchanging exercises we didn't make. Kyouko, then, excuses herself to go to the toilet and leaves her stuff over her table, right beside me. Time passes, the professor arrives and closes the door, and nothing of her coming back.

Worry starts filling me. Maybe she got sick? Maybe she needed something? I start feeling jittery in my seat, and right before I sent a text to Hina asking her to go check on her – I wouldn’t be able to help much since she was in the toilet – she walks into class excusing herself, followed by no one but Junko herself.

My stomach drops.

I watch Kyouko until she sits beside me with a tense expression. She gives me a quick glance as a reassurance she was okay, but I wouldn’t leave it at that. I rip a piece of paper from my notebook and write the question that I mostly wanted to know the answer, if she was really alright.

I hand it to her and, not much later, she hands me a reply. It said “ _I am. But Junko knows I met Mukuro.”_

I look over to her, feeling uneasy. If I let her, she’s soon going to send her evidences to the media, before Junko could find out about her investigation… There had to be something I could do to change her mind before it comes to that.

But what would that be?

I wouldn’t do anything behind her back, so trying to talk to her father instead of her wasn’t an idea. Maybe I could make him go talk to her, though. But how the hell would I make him do that?

Which makes me wonder… Did they ever talk properly? He did invite her for dinner, but was it only that?

To be honest, if he simply left things as they are, he wouldn’t seem interested in getting on good terms with her.

After class, I ask her to have lunch me and she agrees. I had the idea of asking her over lunch about her father, but then we meet some friends on the way and I find myself unable to do so. Once we’re done eating, she tries excusing herself to go solve some sort of business, which makes me jump up and insist on going with her.

“Okay, what is this really about?” She asks as we leave the restaurant.

“I want to ask you something.” I say, trying not to stutter.

“Go ahead.”

“I don’t want you to make any decision before solving your issue with your father. I still think that’s what moving you, after all…”

“That’s not a question.” She rolls her eyes.

“Alright. Then, what did you talk to your father about when he invited you to have dinner in his new place?”

“He asked me to come live with him, now that I’m studying here. I denied, and then he insisted by inviting me to dinner. He didn’t seem interested on knowing my reason for looking for him in the first place.” She sighs. “He just wanted to fill his remorse or whatever.”

“So… Why did you ask me to go on that run with you?”

“It was like I’ve said, I wanted to see it with my own eyes. Besides, my father got my grandfather on his side, so he was also telling me I should go live with him so we could make up for the lost time.”

Oh, so it wasn’t that bad. Even her grandfather was encouraging her to get closer to her father…

I guess Kyouko is more of a headstrong than she seems.

“Living with him sounds exaggerated, but you still could try getting on good terms with him.”

“I have no interest in that.”

Tired, I just sigh loudly, earning a glare from her. For some reason, I believe she was actually hearing me, so I could insist on that issue a little further until she accepts on solving this the right way...

“Could you, at least, promise me that you won’t take the evidences to the media yet? Just give it a little more time, we can come to a solution together.”

“Fine.” She passes a hand through her hair. “Actually, to be quite honest with you, telling you about my plan made me realize the amount of flaws in it, especially towards my motivation. It seemed so clear before I told you, it’s your fault I need to postpone it.”

“Sorry.” I giggle, feeling happy.

“Well, Junko did get me anxious when she came to ask me about meeting Muruko, but she only asked me why I decided to hook up with the ugly twin.”

“Really?” I chuckle.

“Yes. I thought she was going to ask me how I found out they’re sisters… But it seems like she thinks Mukuro herself told me about their relation. I guess I’m safe for now.”

I was feeling butterflies all over from knowing she was reconsidering her decision.

“I’m so glad.” I say excitingly.

“It’s too early to be happy. I’m just postponing it.” She says. “Well, now will you allow me to go? I have business to deal with and I’m getting late.”

“Uh… Right.” I nod, trusting her. “Will you text me when you come back? Otherwise I'll worry through the entire night...”

“I will.” She says firmly, and I notice a hint of a smile on the corner of her lips.

I watch her go, and once she disappears by my sight, I head to my dorm room.

For the rest of the afternoon, I focus on finishing exercises and papers, until I got tired and decided to play some games on my laptop. That’s when I get a text from Kyouko, saying she was already back in her room and wishing me good night.

My heart fills me with warmth, like telling me how I wanted to see her right now. I consider going to her room to greet her in person just to see her for five seconds, but she’d surely misunderstand it as me trying to confirm she wasn’t lying about being on her room already and it wouldn't be what I want.

I fall in my bed, thinking about a good reason to see her, until I remember how she told me that being with me was very relaxing for her. Maybe I could think of something we could do as another break.

My mind travels among ideas for places, and that’s when I remember Hina telling me something about the swimming pool here being incredible. Would Kyouko like swimming? Even if she didn’t, we could simply put our feet in the water… It sounded like a very relaxing idea.

Without further hesitation, I walk to my wardrobe, grab my swimming trunks and dress it under my clothes. Then I walk to Kyouko’s room, still excited about my idea. Once I arrive, I knock repeatedly on the door, and a low grumble comes from inside.

“Who is it?” She says coldly.

“It’s me!” As a contrast, I say as happily as I can.

A few seconds later she opens the door. She was already on her pajamas, probably getting ready to sleep… which would make me feel bad for disturbing her if she didn’t come to my room so many times while I was in the same state.

“I have a mission.” I say brightly. “You should get ready.”

“For what, exactly?” She asks lazily, but I felt she was curious.

“It’s a secret. But you need to put on some clothes you can wet. And you need to bring your lock pick tools.”

“You’re taking me on a mission that I have to do everything, is that it?” She chuckles. “Well, guess I have nothing better to do, anyway…”

“It’ll be fun.”

“I’m just not sure about the getting wet part…”

She allows me into her room and a take a few seconds observing how organized everything was. She decorated her table with lavender stuff, such as pencil holders and notepads, and her bed also had lavender pillows and covers.

“Let me guess, lavender is your favorite color?” I tease.

“Oh my, did I make that obvious?” She chuckles, opening her closet. As a contrast, most of her clothes were black, with only a few varying between discrete colors. “Let me see, something I can wet… Are you trying to see me on a bikini, Makoto?”

“Uh, no!” I wave my hands in the air. “This is why I said something you can wet and not actually a swimsuit…”

“I see.” She nods. “Well, but I’m afraid it’ll be troublesome to wet an entire outfit, when I could simply wear something appropriate…”

“It’s up to you.” I say nervously.

She grabs a swimsuit from a drawer and heads to the bathroom to dress it under her clothes. It doesn’t take long until she’s ready and we go out, with me leading the way this time.

Well, she probably knew where we were heading, but she allows me to feel as the leader of this mission anyway.

We cross almost the entire campus to arrive where I wanted. After the sport courts, we arrive at a huge hangar, in which we were finally going to use her lock pick abilities. She doesn’t take a minute to do so, and soon we’re in, meeting the university’s big swimming pool.

“Wow, it’s even bigger than I imagined.” I gasp, eyeing the water.

“I hope you know how to swim, this must be deep.” She says, walking towards it. "I didn't practice performing CPR very much."

"H-Hey!" I run after her, blushing at the idea of having her doing CPR on me. "I know how to swim... Now, do you know?"

“I know enough to not drown. Anyway, let’s find the shallow side for safety, since these pools usually have an inclination.”

“Yeah, that might be better…”

We walk around the pool and once we find the right side, I hastily remove my clothes, staying only in my swimming trunks. Not wasting another minute, I jump into the pool, splashing water all around.

“Awesome!” I shout from the water. “Hurry, come on in!”

“I’m…” Kyouko was standing by the pool, already on her swimsuit, but strangely seeming unsure.

“What’s wrong?” I swim closer to the border.

“My gloves.” She lifts her hands. “I forgot I can’t wet them.”

“Can’t you just take them off?”

“I never show my hands to anyone but family.” She explains.

“Oh, right.” I nod, concerned, and try to figure a solution for this. “I have an idea! Let me go to the pharmacy and get you some plastic gloves!”

When I was about to climb off the pool, Kyouko starts removing her gloves, making me gasp, and places them over her clothes. Like that, she comes into the pool carefully, while I was still with my mouth half agape.

“The water surely is nice.” She says, like that issue just now didn’t matter anymore.

I eye her, trying to find a hint of anything being wrong, but she just smiles softly at me.

“Kyouko…” I felt like crying.

“What’s wrong?” She seems confused.

“Thank you for trusting me.” I say, grabbing her hands under the water.

“Well, I didn’t really let you see my hands properly…” She tilts her head, sounding calm.

“But just the action of removing the gloves in my front shows the trust you have in me.”

“Your naïve honesty will be the end of you.” She rolls her eyes. “And me, probably.”

Then, she lifts our hands from under the water, allowing me to see them. Her hands had deep burn scars, most likely made by some sort of chemical, and the skin didn’t manage to recover. They looked like raw flesh, and only imagining what she went through makes my heart ache.

“Does it hurt?” I ask, genuinely worried.

“Not anymore. They look gruesome, but they’re healed… I nearly lost them.” She still sounds calm, but I could sense a hint of pain in her words.

Before I could think better if it was appropriate, I place a kiss in both her hands, holding them fondly on my face. I hear her gasp lowly, and a hint of blush appear on her cheeks.

“Didn’t we come here to swim?” She turns her head, disguising her embarrassment.

“You’re right.” I lower her hands and let go of them slowly.

Kyouko dives and comes back to surface in the middle of the pool, only proving me how embarrassed she got. It was lovely seeing her hair floating on the water, making her look even more angelic than she usually looks... Wait, angelic? What am I thinking?

Embarrassed by my own thoughts, I dive as well and we stay like that, enjoying the water in silence, even taking a moment to float for a few minutes. The only lighting was from the moon, coming from the transparent ceiling, which made a beautiful reflection in the water.

It was absolutely relaxing.

“Makoto…” Kyouko calls me after a while.

“Yeah?”

“I talked to my grandfather this afternoon. Your words and his convinced me to try talking properly to my father… So I plan on doing that tomorrow.”

I stop floating to be able to look at her. She does as well, turning to me with a secure expression.

“I won’t give him my evidences. I’m just going to tell him what I planned on the first day… So I can remove that of my mind.”

“That’s great already, Kyouko.”

“I guess. At least it’ll bring the closure I wanted on the beginning.” She puts her hair behind her ear, looking away.

"It'll be better after you open your heart to him." I nod firmly. 

"I hope so." She smiles softly.

Our eyes meet, and I suddenly start feeling jittery. Why was I feeling like this again? Kyouko doesn't deserve me acting weird around her, especially after all the trust she put on me...

I try to brush away any weird thoughts by breaking our eye contact and splashing water in my face.

"I guess..." Kyouko says, so I look to her again. She was looking slightly uneasy. "We should head back now. I need to prepare for tomorrow..."

"Of course." I agree, figuring the reason she seemed off.  

The walk back to the dorms is very chilly, since we were both still wet. I should have suggested bringing towels, even though Kyouko didn't seem affected by the wind and walks pretty calmly.

When we arrive there, we just bid short goodnights before we head back to our rooms, anxious to take a warm bath. For some reason, though, I couldn’t keep Kyouko out of my mind for any second.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys please go check the fanart @capndirosso made for this fic on Tumblr <3  
> http://capndirosso.tumblr.com/post/152924093162/her-expression-was-still-stoic-but-i-knew-she-was  
> This made my day, I feel so flattered aaaaa thanks a lot!!!!!
> 
> Now, about this chapter... Do I even need to warn you about the fluff ahead? 8D  
> Hope you enjoy it <3

After classes on the next day, Kyouko leaves to have her conversation with her father. I wanted to go with her and wait outside until they were finished, so then I could even be there for her if things didn’t go well… but she tells me it’s not necessary and promises me to tell me everything later.

I wait for her news patiently (but anxiously) in my dorm, trying to distract myself with other things, and eventually the night arrives and I still didn’t hear anything from her. Before I sent her a text, though, someone knocks hardly on my door. Imagining it had to be her, and with worry starting to fill me for the way she knocked, I stand up from my bed and rush to answer it.

As soon as my eyes meet her lavender hair, my mind urges to ask her how the conversation went, but I make an abrupt stop when I realize she’s completely dressed up. Black dress, heels, and even her hair was tied over her shoulder in a fancy braid.

“Oh my.” I gasp, taking her visual in.

“We’re going to have dinner.” She announces calmly, like we did this every night.

“W-What?” I can’t even pronounce anything properly before she makes way into my room.

“You have 30 minutes to get ready, our reservations are for 8pm.”

Confused, I close the door behind my back and look to her, trying to understand what was going on.

“Are we going to have dinner with your father?” I ask, being it the only explanation I could get from the recent events.

“No.” She crosses her arms. “Not technically, at least.”

I frown, even more confused.

“Could you explain what’s going on? I also want to know how the conversation went.”

“I’m afraid we don’t have much time…” She looks to her wristwatch.

“At least a quick summary?” I insist.

“Later.” She heads to my closet, opening the door and frowning at my mess. “I hope you have at least a nice shirt that isn’t wrinkled.”

“A-Ah!” I run to her side and pull her away from it. “Let me search for it!”

“You should really consider organizing your clothes.” She says calmly, unaffected by how I simply dragged her by the waist.

“S-Sit on the bed to wait.” I let go of her, blushing, and point to my bed.

She does as I asked and crosses her legs, looking at me in expectation.

“Be quick. I was lucky to get this reservation, it seems like a couple cancelled just a while ago.”

“R-Right.” I walk to my closet and start searching through my amount of unfolded t-shirts for that one button-up shirt I believe I had that would fit this situation. “Where are we going, anyway?”

“Hopian Restaurant.”

“What?!” My mouth drops. “I don’t have money for that!”

“Don’t worry, it’s on me. On my grandfather, actually.” She plays with the loose lock of hair that framed her face.

Still unsure about this, I continue searching and eventually find the shirt I had in mind. Then I look for some pants that aren’t jeans, a belt and some nice shoes I believe I still had. With everything I needed in hands, I head to the bathroom to get ready.

After dressing everything, I feel like I look totally lame compared to her, but this was the most fancy I could get with the clothes I brought from home. I spray some perfume on my neck, fix my hair and head out.

“Is this okay?” I ask her. “I don’t have many options here…”

She eyes me for a few seconds with her hand on her chin, making me gulp nervously. I couldn’t figure if she found my outfit nice or terrible because her expression was unreadable, but then she abruptly stands up and stops in front of me.

“There’s just one detail…” She says as she lifts her gloved hands to fix the collar of my shirt. After she’s done, she slides her hand down just a little against my chest to fix my shirt before pulling her hand away, and that is enough to make my heart rush. “Now it’s perfect. Are you ready to go?”

I nod nervously, and so she grabs her phone to call a cab for us through an app. Everything happens so quickly that not much later we’re already at the restaurant, being lead by the waitress to our table. When I walk behind her, I notice her feet were starting to hurt under the strings of her heels and get worried.

As soon as we sit down in our huge fancy seats and the waitress leaves us alone to chose our meals, I voice my concern.

“I should have brought you some bandages.” I comment as she grabs the menu in her front.

“Huh?” She eyes me curiously, slightly surprised.

“Y-Your feet. The skin on your ankle is red, it might start bleeding.”

She chuckles lightly, seeming amused, and turns her glance back to the menu in her hands.

“You’re very attentive, Makoto. But don’t worry, I’m fine.” She assures me. “What are you going to have?”

I grab the menu in my front and almost fall from my chair with the prices for the dishes. One single soup was over $100, this was even more absurd than I imagined.

“What are you going to eat?” I ask her back, feeling lost.

“I don’t know, perhaps the chef’s recommendation?”

“That’s literally the most expensive dish.”

“I told you to not worry about the prices.” She closes her menu, eyeing me. “So, two chef’s recommendations?”

Before I could agree or not, she calls the waitress and places our orders. Along with the dishes, she orders red wine, fact that makes my heart speed in my chest.

“Hey, Kyouko…” I call her as soon as the waitress leaves. “Are you going to explain to me why we’re really here?”

She fidgets for a few seconds on her seat.

“They’re not here yet, their reservations are for 8:50PM on the table behind me.” She turns her head slightly to indicate me where it was. “I needed to get any of the tables around them that allowed me to hear their conversations without them seeing me, so I guess I was lucky to get this one.”

“Who are they?” I ask.

“My father and his wife.”

I felt lost. Nothing made sense, and she wouldn’t explain things properly to me if I didn’t insist.

“Please, tell me now how the conversation went.”

“Won’t you rather wait until after we have our dinner? I imagined we could enjoy this moment before dealing with the business part of this night…” She sounds as calm as ever, but there was a hint of anxiety in her voice.

“I’m… I’m confused, Kyouko. I guess I should know now to be able to help you with whatever you need.” I explain, decided.

“Alright, then.” She agrees, seeming calm. “Well, in our conversation, I told my father everything I planned from the beginning, thanking him for leaving me with my grandfather and, finally, cutting ties completely with him. He seemed understanding and respectful of my feelings at first, even apologizing for the way things went in our family… But then he suddenly invited me for dinner tonight with him and his wife. It was like he simply ignored everything I said and decided to continue insisting on making me get along with him and his new family.”

The anger in her voice grows at each word she pronounces, and I can’t measure how hurt she got after this conversation. What her father did was completely not nice. Kyouko’s wishes were hard and cold, with all the cutting ties part, but he should have at least taken her feelings in consideration from the way he left her.

“Kyouko…” I didn’t really know what I could say. “Why did you decide to come here, after this?”

“I…” She puts her hair behind her ear. “I want to hear what they’re going to talk about. My detective persona wants to know more about this situation to help me prepare for whatever comes next.”

“Is this really okay? I mean… Hearing their conversation might only hurt you even more.” I worry.

“I don’t mind. I just want to hear what sort of life he’s taking right now, and he’s probably going to mention me since he invited me for this.”

“Yes, but… You shouldn’t torture yourself like that.”

“Don’t worry, this is not a torture.” She smiles softly, lightening up. “That’s why I wanted us to enjoy dinner before I explained everything to you. When would we imagine coming to such fancy restaurant?”

“But… Is your grandfather okay with you spending so much money in one night?”

“He is. In fact, I told him a little lie that made him actually delighted, so he said we should enjoy.”

I was afraid of asking her what she told him, but I knew she was trying to change subjects, tired of all the problems with her father. Besides, I felt like she genuinely had the intention of enjoying dinner with me, even under these circumstances… So I should allow her to lighten up the mood while we can.

“What did you tell him?” I smile with the corner of my lips, trying to relax.

“I hope you don’t mind, this actually involves you.” She arches an eyebrow, still looking calm. “But it was the most convincing thing I came up with to justify paying for dinner with someone else in this restaurant."

“Alright…” I giggle nervously. “If it’s good, I guess I won’t mind.”

“I’m not sure if you’ll find it good, but I told him this was a surprise two-month anniversary dinner for my boyfriend. You.”

She says it so calmly, like it didn’t mean anything, that my face drops. I could feel myself starting to sweat under my shirt, which wouldn’t look pretty when I stand up.

“So… Your grandfather now thinks I’m your boyfriend?” I chuckle, taking the idea in.

“Don’t worry, he’s not the ancient type who’ll ask to meet you to approve you or anything like that. We’re safe for the time being.” She reassures.

“Right.” I inhale deeply. “Is this alright, though? I—I mean… For you to make such a lie…”

“Are you uncomfortable with this?” She eyes me, like analyzing my reactions.

“I—I, uh, no!” I say, completely flustered. “I—I’m completely fine with this… I actually worry about you, associating yourself with someone like me…”

“What do you mean?” She tilts her head, confused. “You’re the only person I trust in years. Besides… My grandfather pointed that I look sort of different these days, and when I told him this lie, he associated it to being related to you.”

“R-Really?” I blush.

“It’s no big news, I’ve told you already that being with you calms me. But my grandfather said I looked happier, which is interesting and nice.” She reveals, smiling softly. “So I believe being associated with you would only be pleasant.”

Her words make butterflies fly all over my stomach. She enjoyed being with me, and hearing her saying this to my face was the validation I needed to feel more worthy of her company.

“Thank you, Kyouko.” I open a big smile, feeling emotional. “These days, all you do is put your trust even more on me. I wonder how I can make it up to you…”

“Just continue being as you are.” She says. “That’s enough.”

Like her grandfather said, Kyouko seemed happier recently. Maybe it was just because now she trusted me better to show me her emotions; when I first met her, I never imagined seeing anything but her stoic everyday expression. The cause didn’t have to be me particularly, and it would be selfish of me to consider that. Either way, it made me happy that she felt that comfortable with me, we were really becoming closer every day. Not that I had second thoughts about it… She just became so quickly very important to me, and I’m glad she apparently feels the same about me.

Our conversation is interrupted by our meals arriving, and I was anxious to dig in and discover how expensive food tasted. Turns out it was simply divine, and I catch a hint of sparkle in Kyouko’s eyes as well. The wine was also great, even though I wasn’t really used to drinking… Everything just seemed to fit, being with her.

Right after we finish our meals, we’re left with our glasses of wines at the table, just waiting for her father to appear. And he does, a little late, accompanied by his new wife.

“Don’t turn around now.” I watch behind Kyouko’s seat while the couple sits on the table by ours.

“He’s here?” Kyouko tenses up slightly. “Tell me what you’re seeing.”

“They’re just sitting down. The waitress brought them the menu and left.” I narrate. “Can you hear what they’re talking?”

Kyouko tries paying attention.

“Yes, a little. They’re discussing about the dishes.”

I decide to stay quiet to allow her to listen to their conversation. I could also hear some words, but most of it wasn’t clear.  Kyouko keeps her complete attention on it, so I decide it would be best not bothering her by asking what they were talking about.

I continue sipping on my wine, just waiting. The food arrives at their table and they start eating, but I still couldn’t figure what they were talking about. It didn’t seem important so far, since Kyouko kept her same indifferent expression all the time... I hope she didn't mind how I was staring into her face, but analyzing her reactions was my only way of following what's going on.

After some minutes, though, I notice Kyouko straightens up in her seat, with a frown appearing in her forehead. I couldn't even say anything before she stands up In a sudden movement, leaving her seat and heading to the table behind her. I jump up to go behind her, but it was already too late.

“You really have no respect for my feelings, right?” She stops by their table and says it harshly, eyeing her father.

“Kyouko, what are you doing here?“ Her father says, standing up. "You denied my invitation--"

“You don’t need to lie to your wife saying I will probably change my mind. I want nothing to do with you or your new family, I guess I made that clear today.”

“Kyouko…”

She, then, turns around and walks away. I don’t say anything to her father and storm after her, only managing to reach her when we’re already outside.

“Damn, I forgot to pay.” She says, a little flustered. “I need to go back inside.”

“Wait, calm down a little.” I hold her hands.

Before she could, though, her father appears outside.

“Don’t worry about your bill, leave it to me.” He says calmly. “Kyouko, just listen to me…”

“I have nothing to discuss with you anymore.” She turns her head, not even looking to him.

“I know I did wrong things. I’ve spent so much time trying to make up for it, but you always ignored my attempts… I thought that now that you’re grown up you’d understand.”

Kyouko doesn’t reply, but I see in her expression that she was on her limit.

“Sir, I guess she’s been through enough today.” I decide to step in, feeling a sudden wave of courage. I just couldn’t stand seeing Kyouko that way.

With a sigh, her father shakes his head.

“I’m sorry. Please take her back to her dorm safely.” He smiles apologetically before turning around and heading back in the restaurant.

We wait until he disappears inside completely to be able to relax. Kyouko takes a deep breath, calming herself, before turning to me again.

“Thanks.” She says before releasing my hand to grab her phone. “Let’s just get out of here.”

We go the entire way back to the dorms in silence. Our hands meet again inside the cab and I hold hers firmly as some sort of reassurance that things would be fine, somehow. She seems to appreciate that, even though she was far away in her thoughts.

Being abandoned was really a traumatic experience for her, although she claims she was better this way. I wanted to help her, but this was beyond my limits… All I could do was being by her side for everything she might need.

Once we arrive back, she stops me by the entrance, looking calmer already.

“Makoto…” She says softly. “Would you sleep in my room tonight? I’m afraid my mind won’t stop for a second if I stay alone, preventing me from getting any sleep.”

“S-Sure.” I agree without hesitation. “I’ll just dress my pajamas and grab my pillow in my room.”

“Alright. I’ll be waiting.”

I don’t take much changing into my pajamas, brushing my teeth and leaving my stuff organized for classes next morning. At last, I grab my pillow and leave my room, hoping I wouldn’t meet anyone in the way to question where I was going… We didn’t need any other misunderstanding for now.

Kyouko opens the door a few seconds after I knock. She was already in her pajamas and her bed was done, so I walk to the bed and get comfortable on the other side as she turns off the light and does the same. We lie down and I keep looking at the ceiling, feeling how the bed smelled like her.

“Should we talk for a bit?” Kyouko suggests.

“Sure. What do you want to talk about?” I ask, sitting up again.

“Well… You can tell me a childhood story, or just something that happened to you.” She says, still lying down and hugging her pillow. “But first, lie on this side of the bed, it’s awkward to talk when you’re so distant.”

“Is that okay?” I sudden feel nervous.

“Yes, if it’s okay with you.”

I grab my pillow and move to her side, lying down very close to her. She rolls to the side and we face each other, which makes me blush. I hope the low lighting didn’t allow her to see that.

“Uh, so….” I try thinking about anything to tell her about my childhood, but there wasn’t really anything interesting to say. “I don’t know what I could tell you… My Junior High was kind of hell, and before that, I mostly played tag and some other child games…”

“Oh, I remember Leon mentioned that about your Junior High years.” She claims. “You were bullied, right?”

“Yes… quite a lot.” I frown at the memories. “I guess that’s why I didn’t remember Sayaka at first, I try to forget those years…”

“I see.” She nods over her pillow. “You didn’t quite overcome that, did you?”

“I, uh…” I stutter nervously. “Maybe? I still have self esteem issues, like Leon reminded me… But it’s not like I think about that anymore. I talked to Chihiro and he suffered bullying as well, so it was nice sharing stories with him. Besides, I have friends who seem to like me the way I am, such as Hina, Sayaka, Sakura, even Byakuya talked to me the other day in a nicer way. And you, of course. But with you it’s different, I guess.”

“How so?” She seems curious.

“I feel closer to you than I am to them. You’re more like a best friend already.”

“That’s nice to hear.” She smiles softly. “I’ve already told you how I feel about you. I’ve never been a person who made friends easily, as you may have noticed already… But I find your honesty so interesting that I couldn’t avoid trusting you.”

“My naïve honesty did get the best of you, didn’t it?” I chuckle, remembering one of the things she said in one of our first conversations.

“I’m afraid it did.” Her voice was so soft that my heart feels weird. “Don’t ever change, Makoto.”

“I won’t.” I smile. “Your opinion really matters to me.”

“Good. I’m usually right, anyway.” She chuckles softly.

“It doesn’t match you acting cocky.” I pout playfully.

“I guess I can try showing more façades of me, to you only.”

“I’d love to meet them.”

She fidgets a bit in her spot, changing the position of her pillow.

“Can I lie closer to you?” She asks suddenly with her usual blank expression.

I’d be dying if I made her this same question.

“Sure.”

What she meant by that wasn’t simply lying next to me, but cuddling close to my chest. I’ve never expected her to do such thing, and I find myself with my heart pounding loudly. Then, I slowly place my arm around her, getting comfortable with her proximity.

We fall in a silence, words not being necessary right now, and soon her breathing indicates she fell asleep like that. I kiss her head and close my eyes, allowing myself to rest in such perfect situation.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for some drama!! :o  
> I hope you enjoy this chapter <3

I wake up before Kyouko and take a few seconds to recall where I was and what was going on. She was still nestled in my chest, breathing calmly and still deep in sleep, so I decide to not leave the bed until she woke up.

I stroke her hair carefully, watching how peaceful she looked. To have her next to me like this felt like an honor… It was still quite unbelievable that someone as unapproachable as her decided to befriend and trust me. But, like she said, it’s all because of my honesty.

I must continue being the most true I can to her.

It doesn’t take long before she wakes up, yawning softly, and that sight makes her look like a kitten.

“Good morning.” I greet as she opens her eyes.

“Good morning, Makoto.” She says softly, still drunken by sleep.

She lazily sits up first, stretching her back, and I just watch as she brushes her hair with her fingers. Then, she grabs her phone, and after checking it, she jolts off the bed.

“Oh my, it’s 8:10am already.” She heads to her closet.

“What?” I jump up as well. “Why is it so late already?”

“I guess we forgot to set the alarm.” She picks some clothes in her hands. “You should go get ready.”

“Yes. I’ll meet you downstairs?”

“Sure.”

We smile softly to each other before I storm out of her room. What a lovely turnoff for our nice morning together… Our classes started at 8:30am, so we’d had to run if we still wanted breakfast. I don’t take much time, since I left things half ready the night before, and so I walk downstairs, meeting her on the way.

There was a huge line on the cafeteria, so we decide to grab breakfast from some food machines inside the main building. Kyouko grabs a small coffee while I grab hot chocolate with some other snacks, that I force her on eating just to have something on her stomach besides plain coffee. After we finish, we had two minutes to walk upstairs and find our classroom on the second floor.

We walk calmly there, until, at the corridor, we’re surprised by the sight of three securities in front of our classroom. I suddenly have a bad feeling about that as we approach.

“That’s them.” One of the securities says, coming towards us.

“Kyouko Kirigiri and Makoto Naegi?” The second asks.

“Yes.” Kyouko replies with a serious expression. “What is this about?”

“We’ll explain at the security department. You two shall come with us.”

My heart was stopped in my chest. I didn’t know if I worried more about what was coming or about the scene that was being made. Everyone on the hallway looked at us, whispering, even many of our friends. I spot Hina talking to Chihiro, both seeming worried, and my stomach drops.

We’re forced to go with them to the security department. Upon arriving, they take us to a room where the security head waited for us, holding an ipad.

“What’s going on?” Kyouko asks as we sit down by her table.

“We were informed by an anonymous complaint that you two were trespassing some university areas during nighttime, and upon little investigation on our outdoors security cameras, we found footage showing you two acting suspicious around these places.” She shows the videos on the device.

We see ourselves near the staff building and around the hangar with the pool, making my face burn. I didn’t think about the security cameras… What would we do now? There was no arguing against those videos.

I look over to Kyouko and find her trying to remain her composure, watching the video replay itself with her expression unaffected.

“That doesn’t prove any sort of trespassing.” She crosses her arms. “We were simply walking past these places.”

“You’re right. But we also found evidences of picking on the exact places of the complaint, being them the back door of the staff building, the archive’s room door and the pool.” The security head turns off the device. “It would be a great coincidence for those places to be invaded at the same time you two decided to act suspicious in the middle of the night, and to a complaint directed towards you two be filed.”

“You can’t base an accusation on mere deductions.”

“Yes, we can’t. But while we investigate this issue deeper to find fingerprints or any other proof that it was in fact you two, you're preventively suspended. Trespassing is seen as a serious matter, especially if proven that you two went to the archives room and saw confidential files, so you can expect to be expelled.”

“E-Expelled?” I repeat, in shock.

“You two should go back to your dorms and stay there until further notice. You aren’t allowed to attend classes and other places of the university for the time being starting now. You’re dismissed.”

“That’s it?” Kyouko asks.

“Yes, that’s it.”

I wanted to say something in our defense, but I felt so dismayed that words fail me. Besides, what could I even say? We did trespass those places. These accusations are true.

Having nothing we could do for now, we exit the security department. I was still in shock as we walk, trying to organize in my head what just happened. Kyouko was silent all the time, with her expression distant. What was going through her mind right now?

“What are we going to do?” I decide to ask her.

“There’s only one person who could have filed that anonymous complaint.” Kyouko says harshly, controlling her anger. “We need to meet them.”

“But we have to go back to the dorms!” I feel even more worried. “We can’t get into more trouble…”

“Don't worry, we won't." She looks to me seriously, but I could see in her eyes some sort of anxiety. "We’re meeting them there, when they appear.”

We head to the dorms building in quick steps. I almost have to run to be able to catch up with Kyouko’s pace, and she seemed so determined that I felt relieved that she apparently had a plan. Once we arrive there, by coincidence, coming out of the front door was Junko Enoshima.

“You.” Kyouko walks towards her firmly, making me gasp as I follow her. “You filed that complaint, didn’t you?”

“Complaint?” Junko pretends to be clueless in such a forced way that even I find it suspicious.

"Just say it, Junko." Kyouko sounds impatient. "You found out we're investigating you, didn't you?"

“Oh, are you talking about the fact that you two trespassed restrict areas?" She grins in sort of a scary way. "So, how was it? Are you two expelled?”

“This was nothing compared to what you did, Junko. And I’m going to prove it.” Kyouko affirms, clenching her fists.

“What have I done?” She tilts her head. “I don’t recall ever doing anything out of the law, unlike you two… So how can you prove something that never happened?”

“I have evidences.”

“Are you sure you have?”

Blood drifts from Kyouko’s face at that statement, while I don’t understand what Junko meant and remain confused in my spot. Kyouko suddenly runs past her and heads straight inside the building, and as I was about to go behind her, Junko stops me with her words.

“Too bad for you, right? Getting dragged into this just because you like a girl… Oh, the drama.” Junko laughs ironically. “You’ll have to go back to your life as an average loser, with no bright future ahead of you… And all of the time you spent studying during High School will become just a waste of time. That’s so sad, isn’t it?"

I wanted to say something, but I was so worried about Kyouko that I can't think properly of any good reply.

"But hey, you were never fit to attend this university in the first place, being so average. You were actually very lucky." She wouldn't affect me, she couldn't. "And, at least, you and the boring headmaster’s daughter will be expelled together, so think positive, I guess! Even though the odds of you two getting together are like, below zero.”

How could someone be this cruel? I thought I faced the worst kind of cruelty during my school years, but I guess we can never measure how people can be mean. 

Even though she was trying to get in my head, I could understand where she was coming from. Junko was only attacking me like this because she was losing. She did something against the law and now wants to destabilize Kyouko and me because we found out and became threats to her success.

But I wouldn't lose my ground.  

“Do you need some water?” Junko looks into my face, faking to be worried. “Are you feeling desperate yet?”

“No…” I inhale deeply and soften my expression. “I won’t lose hope. Justice will find its way.”

“Justice?” She laughs again. “Well, good luck with that. You two shouldn’t have messed with me, in the first place.”

I don’t say anything in reply and finally head inside the building after Kyouko. Running up the stairs to the second floor, I walk to her room, finding the door open.

It was hard to believe it was the same room as this morning. All of her belonging were scattered on the floor, as if a hurricane passed and threw everything on the air. She was kneeling on the floor, rummaging through her things, seeming desperate to find something.

“Kyouko…” I call her, still frozen by the door.

“All my hard drives are gone.” She passes a hand through her hair, not looking as calm as she looked before. “The evidences I need are in them.”

“C-Calm down, we’ll find them.”

“It’s obvious; Junko got them and probably destroyed them already.” She sighs.

Under her bed, she finds her laptop and rushes to turns it on. But, as soon as the screen loads, her expression turns into utter shock.

“W-What?” Her tone was broken.

I go to her side, being careful to not step on her belongings on the floor, and look to the screen. The operational system loaded as if the computer was brand new.

“She formatted it…” She closes her eyes, controlling her anger.

“Don’t you have anything on your phone?” I ask, hopeful.

“No, I never keep them there because phones are easily lost or stolen. Besides, people can always try to pry on these devices.” She clicks her tongue, lost in thought.

“Didn’t you upload them anywhere?” I try to find a solution. “There’s got to be somewhere!”

“Uploading is unsafe as well. I had copies on my computer and my two hard drives, only in these places.” She explains, annoyed at herself. “I can’t believe this...”

“Calm down, let’s think this through.”

I try placing a hand on her shoulder to calm her down, but she stands up and walks away from me, not even minding if she was stepping on something important.

“I’m going to think of something. I got to.” She mumbles. “Go check your room, see if Junko also went there.”

I didn’t even consider that I could find this same scenario in my room. Worry increases in me as I run out of her room to check it, hoping for the best. Fortunately, it was still locked, and everything inside was still in the same place. I come back to Kyouko’s room and report her that.

“I see… So Junko knew I was the only one with the evidences. She either must have followed us or she’s very good at analyzing people.” Kyouko places her hand under her chin. “She probably knew I wouldn’t trust anyone with my evidences, even you.”

“That’s…” I didn’t know what to tell her. “That’s alright, it’s your investigation. You should be the one keeping the evidences safe; I wouldn’t even know how to do that…”

“But if I did trust you with them, we wouldn’t be going through this.” She looks to me with an empty expression. “I dragged you into this claiming to trust you.”

“Don’t worry, let’s find a solution for things now.” I try to be positive. “There’s got to be something we still can do.”

“I can try gathering the evidences again.” She sounds confused, like she was thinking about a zillion things at the same time. “That might work.”

“But we can’t leave our dorms! Besides, trespassing again would only get us in more trouble.”

“I said I was going to. You’re staying here.” She affirms harshly.

“… what?” I frown, taken aback.

“I’m not getting you into any other problem.”

“But… What about you? You can’t risk yourself just for my sake!”

“That’s what you did for me since the first time I asked you to give me assistance on this mission.” She sounds impatient. “Can't you see it? If they search the areas, they're only going to find your fingerprints. I wear gloves."

"I'm--" I really didn't think about this before.

"It’s only fair that I get you out of this by any means necessary.”

“I don’t want you to!” I walk towards her and hold her hands. “We’re in this together and we’re going to deal with this together, no matter what it takes!”

She looks into my eyes with an expression I never saw on her. She was… broken.

“Aren’t you afraid of being expelled?” She asks, furrowing her eyebrows. “After everything you went through… How will you explain this to your parents? What aren’t you going to do for your life?”

I can’t say that the prospect of being expelled didn’t worry me. Actually, it hurt to imagine myself coming back home after spending just a few months here. After studying so hard and hoping so much to get in.

This university is everything I have right now. If things turn for worse and we get expelled, I don’t have any idea what I’m going to do with my life.

But my trust in her was even bigger than my worry.

“I’m not worried.” I say, tightening my grip on her hands. “I trust you; I know you’ll get us out of this.”

She breaks eye contact and turns her head to the side.

“You should be hating me right now, not continuing to trust me. You gave me your trust on the beginning and I couldn’t even predict this situation we’re in right now.” She shakes her head. “This is all my fault. I was reckless, I shouldn't have dragged you into this. I’ve always dealt with my own investigation, how could I…”

“Stop it, Kyouko. I agreed to join you in this investigation.” I try to calm her. “You always know what you’re doing; I never had a reason to doubt you. And I’ll continue by your side, whatever happens.”

She remains in silence for a few seconds, and I allow her this moment to think. To show her that I was there for her, supporting on any idea she might have to solve this, I enlace our fingers together. I notice she tenses up a little.

“I guess…” She closes he eyes and bites her lip. “I guess I have no other choice, then.”

“What is it?” I worry again. “I’m not letting you do anything alone, much less to harm yourself.”

“This is the only way we have most chances of getting out safe of this situation.” She finally turns to me again, seeming determined. “Let’s go.”

She releases my hand and walks past me to leave her room. I almost stumble to follow her, feeling a little anxious but trusting her decision. She’d get us out of this.

Once outside, Kyouko walks in a straight line to the staff building, like she was almost in automatic mode. I was going to ask her about her plan, but she seemed so drained as we walk that I imagine it would be best to simply follow her in silence.

We head into the staff building and try passing through the entrance with our ID cards but they’re rejected, proving us that we were really suspended already. Like that wasn’t a big problem, Kyouko walks to the janitor.

“Excuse me; I’m the headmaster’s daughter. I need to talk to him urgently.” I don’t hide a gasp upon hearing this.

“Show me your ID.” He asks, and she hands it to him. “Oh, Miss Kirigiri…”

The janitor quickly opens the gate for us, allowing us in.

“Tell me if you need anything.” He offers.

“Thank you.” Kyouko nods.

She heads straight to the stairways, so I run behind her to grab her hand.

“Kyouko, what are you going to do?” I ask, shocked.

“I’m…” She avoids my glance, looking to the wall. “I’m solving this.”

She releases herself from me and continues upstairs, not allowing me to say anything else. Her father’s secretary informs us that he was there, so Kyouko doesn’t hesitate on opening his big door.

We find him doing some paperwork on his table, and once he lifts his glance to meet us, his expression turns into complete worry.

“Kyouko? Why are you here?” He stands up with a confused expression. As if realizing the tension in the air, his eyebrows furrow. “Did something happen?”

He really could sense that something was going on. Kyouko wouldn’t appear in his office any time soon, unless something really serious was happening.

My heart clutches in my chest with this situation.

“Yes, in fact.” She breathes in, not even wanting to look towards him. “We need your help.”

He leaves his table and walks towards us, indicating we should sit in his couch. He sits on the armchair in front of us in a formal manner, as if we were about to start a meeting.

“Explain me everything.” He instructs seriously, and I sense some sort of detective aura in him as well.

“I found out a classmate didn’t take her entrance exam. It was, in fact, her twin sister, disguised as her.” Kyouko starts explaining. “I collected evidences from her registration file and the exam to compare her fingerprints, and it turns out that it’s very obvious her fingerprint on the exam weren’t made by a finger, but some sort of plastic containing her fingerprint.”

“Why are you just telling me this now?” He frowns. “You should have told me right away! Not me, but any of the securities. How could you let that pass?”

“That’s…” Kyouko drifts off. “Anyway, the culprit found out about my investigation and sent an anonymous complaint to the security department saying that my friend and I trespassed some areas, which in fact we did to collect those evidences. Now they have footage from the outdoor cameras showing us acting suspicious around areas that had signs of lock picking, and this resulted in us being suspended and risking being expelled.”

“Oh my god, Kyouko. Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?” He passes a hand through his hair, alarmed and a bit angry. “This could risk my career as a headmaster as well. My daughter has been trespassing inside university, that’s unacceptable! You had no right to conduct such investigation here without warning me beforehand. Besides, this case is a very serious matter!”

It's painful to me watching her being scolded like that. I wanted to say something, but I was so nervous that I can’t think of anything good to say.

“I know. And I’m sorry.” She says quietly, still looking calm. “But I’m telling you now, and you’re our only hope.”

“I would never deny helping you, but you have to know I’m very disappointed with you. And your grandfather will know about your reckless behavior for this investigation. A true detective wouldn’t let things get this far.”

She doesn’t say anything and just turns her glance to the floor. It hurt me so bad.

“Let me just…” Her father continues, grabbing his phone and dialing a number. “Kizakura? Yes. I need your assistance. Only tomorrow? Alright, but come the sooner you can.”

As her father ends the call, he eyes both of us seriously, but especially her.

“You two are going to behave until tomorrow morning. Don’t even leave your dorms, only if extremely necessary.” He instructs, and I not firmly while Kyouko doesn’t even change her expression.  “Your grandfather told me you already have an official detective license, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, then Kizakura is going to help you get through this. He’s going to explain that you were hired by me to investigate this matter. Your friend can count as your assistant on this mission.”

“Right.” She nods, lifting an eyebrow. “Is Kizakura going to be able to hand it?”

“You’re not in a position to be questioning my decisions, young lady. But yes, and I trust him completely, you should know it.” He replies in a softer tone, and I notice that the way he looked to her was with genuine concern. “Now… Who’s the classmate you were investigating?”

“Junko Enoshima. Her twin sister, Mukuro Ikusaba, was the one who did the exam in her place.”

“Alright.” Her father nods. “Now you stay out of this investigation, I’ll do the rest from here. And I can’t emphasize more, but behave until tomorrow morning. Don’t do anything that might get you in more trouble, and if you need anything, call me.”

“It’s not like we have anything to do besides waiting.” Kyouko says, tired. “I guess we’re done then, right?”

“Not yet.”

His face softens up completely, as if he was glad she was here in his room. Kyouko finally lifts her glance to eye him, with a frustrated expression.

“What is it?” She asks weakly.

“I’m really glad you came to me.” He says, caring. "I wish it was sooner, but at least you came."

“I did it for Makoto.” She turns her head to me, seeming uncomfortable. “I wasn’t going to if I was alone in this, but I can’t let him suffer the consequences because of something I dragged him into.”

“I see.” Her father smiles apologetically. “Aren’t you going to introduce me properly to your boyfriend, then?”

My face burns, and I notice Kyouko doesn’t know how to react for a few seconds.

“He’s not…” Kyouko frowns.

“But your grandfather told me you were seeing someone…” He seems confused, while Kyouko taps her own forehead.

With a deep breath, she lifts her hand towards me.

“This is Makoto Naegi.” She mumbles lowly, like forcing herself to say it.

 “Pleased to meet you.” He bows his head. “Thank you for being by my daughter’s side.”

“The same, sir. A-And it is a pleasure.” I bow back. “Sorry for being rude at the restaurant, I…”

“You were right. I’m the one who should apologize to you two.”

“Acknowledged.” Kyouko cuts coldly. “Now, if you excuse us, we’ll hide in our dorms until tomorrow morning.”

I leave his office with a polite goodbye, while Kyouko doesn’t say anything to him. We exit the building in silence and walk back on the direction of the dorms with weak steps, like we were too astonished by all the events of this day.

“Kyouko…” I begin, a little hesitant. “Are you alright?”

“About what?” She tries to sound unaffected, but her dark tone doesn’t hide that she’s hurting inside.

“Asking your father for help… That must feel terrible, given everything you two are going through.”

“I told you I’d get you out of this by any means necessary.” She says bitterly. “And you didn’t allow me the option of acting alone…”

“H-Hey…” I stutter nervously. “I didn’t want you to do anything to harm yourself.”

“I know. Considering the other solutions I had, this was the one with better chances of working, and without getting you into any other trouble.”

“Well, at least everything is going to be fine, right? And… Your father was a little harsh, but he seemed happy to help us.” I try to sound positive.

“Yes, I guess.” She didn’t sound any happy with this.

Of course she’d be hurt after being scolded by her father, but what could I tell her to make it better? And the fact that she did it mainly because of me didn’t put me in a good position.

“I’m sorry, Kyouko…” I apologize, not knowing what else to say.

Then, she turns to me with a displeased expression on her face.

“Don’t apologize, this is my own fault. My own complete fault.” She says coldly. “Having my father talking to me like I am an inexperienced teenager just pretending to be a detective… It felt like ripping off my detective license and throwing it on flames. But I did it, because it was my fault and I had to solve this. I did it for you.”

“Kyouko...” I feel a wave of emotions that makes me want to start crying, but I hold myself the best I can.

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Just help me cleaning my room.”

“Of course.” I nod.

We get in her room and don’t exchange a word for the entire cleaning. I fold her clothes and put them back in the closet while she tried organizing her notes from class, that were all scrambled. We just finish tidying when it was almost 10pm, when she says she wanted to be alone. She doesn’t look to me even once.

I head back to my room feeling broken.

I had no idea how things would be from now on.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heey! There's only two chapters left of this story and I have them done already, so I'm posting them right now!  
> Next one will be up in a few minutes :D  
> Hope you enjoy!! I'll add some comments on the end of the next chapter~

I sleep terribly during the night. I keep thinking the entire time how Kyouko was feeling about all of this, not being able to see any scenario that would get her to act naturally with me from now on. I actually didn’t know how to face her, given what she did for me.

She claimed it was her own fault, but it was actually my fault. Maybe she wouldn’t even get this far with her investigation if she didn’t have my assistance during those missions. I wasn’t much of a help but I still accepted it, not thinking enough about possible consequences.

Besides, I didn’t allow her to do what she wanted with the evidences when she wanted to. I got in her way.

If I didn’t appear in her plan, things would either have worked out the way she wanted or she’d have to ask for assistance from her grandfather in a decisive point, which would be better than counting with me. Well, she wanted to bring down Hope’s Peak University, but I believe she’d eventually give up that idea, even without what I told her. She’s smart, she would never continue with a plan she’s not sure of.

But now… She’s hurt. Because of me. I don’t even deserve her being by my side anymore… I shouldn’t have allowed this to happen.

I end crying myself to sleep thinking about these things, the only way I found to release these thoughts flooding my mind.

On the next day, someone knocks on my door, waking me up. I check my phone to see what time it was and discover it was almost lunch time, meaning that I slept way more than usual. I stand up to answer the door, finding Kyouko outside.

“Kizakura is here. Get ready.” She says, not eyeing me even once, and walks away.

It was actually for the best that she didn’t look to me. When I go to the bathroom to change, I discover my eyes were puffy from sleeping while crying… it was embarrassing. I wash my face a few times to try making it look a little better, and after I get dressed, I leave my room to meet them outside.

I arrive there just in time to see Kyouko slapping Kizakura’s hand away from her. I guess this might be the reason she doesn’t seem to put much faith in him when she was talking with her father…

“Oh, is this your boyfriend?” He extends his hand towards me for a handshake. “Nice to meet ya.”

“Nice to meet you too.” I reply, shaking his hand.

“Can you rush to the part where you tell us how things went?” Kyouko tells Kizakura in an impatient tone.

“Oh, you’ve already talked to the security department?” I say anxiously.

“Yes, it was a piece of cake.” Kizakura smirks. “Your father made it sound like you did something as terrible as murdering someone…”

“Go to the point.”

“Alright, young lady… You two are clean. They are investigating Junko Enoshima and Mukuro Ikusaba already and put Junko on a preventive suspension. I believe it won’t take long until they see it was really her and she gets expelled and goes on real life trial for false identity…”

“Good.” Kyouko nods.

“But I didn’t manage to explain what you two were investigating on the swimming pool… I even tried saying you were looking for some hard evidences on your boyfriend, if you know what I mean…”

My face burns with his suggestion.

“You’re disgusting.” Kyouko frowns.

“I’m not the one suspended until the rest of the week because of a little night adventure…” He blinks to us. “But by Monday you may come back to class and your student life comes back to normal.”

“That’s great…” I sigh, relieved.

“Ah, there’s another thing. Since your father said he was the one who hired you to investigate this case and the university was not informed, he received a warning for this.”

“Is this bad?” Kyouko asks curiously.

“Nah, he never does anything wrong.” Kizakura dismisses it with his hand. “It would be bad if he was full of warning already.”

“That’s good to know.”

“Are you worried about your daddy?” He teases, earning a death glare from her. “Oh yeah, last thing is that you should know already that you’re not allowed to investigate inside university grounds without a formal permission, so now that you disrespected that, you might never get a permission to investigate in here. So you should just be a normal student for now and enjoy the best years of your life.”

“Right.” She says uninterested. “Is that it?”

“Yes, I guess.”

“Then I’m going to pack and go home for these days.” She puts her hair behind her ear.

“I just told you to enjoy, are you going to work at the Kirigiri Agency during these free days?” He waves his arm in the air, frustrated. “Go to some parties, get drunk!”

“I might work, yes.” She deadpans. “I have no interest in other things.”

As she was about to walk away, Kizakura hands us his contact card and tells us to call if we ever need anything. He also reminds Kyouko of calling her father, in which she makes an expression that indicated that she wasn’t going to.

Once he leaves, Kyouko turns around and starts walking towards the dorms, not even acknowledging me.

“Kyouko, wait!” I call her, making her stop on her tracks.

“I believe we don’t have any matters to discuss anymore now that the investigation is over.” She says coldly.

It felt like my heart was stabbed with an ice pick.

“T-That’s right.” I agree. “B-But…“

“I won’t disturb you with any of my issues from now on. You shall live your life normally.”

“I… I wouldn’t mind being your assistant... Or just your friend” I blurt, blushing. “I—I mean, if you need one.”

“I appreciate. But I won’t commit the same mistake again.”

She still blamed herself for all of this. How could I take that guilt away?

“Kyouko… I’m so sorry about what you had to do in order to protect me. I didn’t want you to have to go through any sort of harm, and being scolded by your father hurt you deeply.” I lower my head, feeling the wave of emotions again. “If only I didn’t accept your invitation to help you on this investigation… You’d have dealt with things your own way, without having me troubling you.”

“I know I should never have dragged you in this.” She says calmly before turning her head. “But… That’s just another mistake I won’t commit again.”

“What do you mean?”

She touches her gloved hand then, and I remember when she told me about her gloves. About the bad decision she made because of someone she grew attached to, and she has her scars because of that.

The ice pick in my heart twists, hurting me even more.

“I’m so sorry.” I say, feeling tears in my eyes.

“I told you, it’s my own fault. Above everything, I am a detective, and a detective should restrain better their own feelings. I let myself slip.” She sighs. “I don’t think we should continue being close to each other. It won’t do any of us any good.”

That’s it. A tear manages to escape my eye, but I quickly dry it with my hand.

“If you think it’s better this way… I won’t argue with you.” I say, trying to sound positive.

“Good.” She nods. “I guess this is farewell, then.”

“Yeah.”

She turns around and walks into the dorms building without looking back. Once she disappears on the stairways I break down, not being able to control myself anymore.

We’d never be the same again.

I only notice that I’m sobbing hard when someone places their hand on my shoulder. I jump in surprise and dry my face with my jacket’s sleeve.

“Makoto…” It was Hina’s voice, so I turn around to face her, trying to brighten up.

“Oh, hey, Hina!” I say, sniffing, but opening a smile. “How did class go?”

“It was normal… I can lend you my notes if you want…” She says carefully.

“I’ll appreciate it a lot!” And I really did. It would be lifesaving for this week suspended.

“Are you alright?” She decides to ask. “I saw that you were crying…”

“Oh, don’t worry.” I pass my sleeve on my face again, trying to make it look better. “It’s just… Some problems.”

“I heard what happened. Like, it is what everyone’s been talking about, especially now that Junko was suspended…” She explains. “When are you and Kyouko coming back?”

“On Monday. I guess everything was solved, so we’re not in trouble anymore.”

“That’s good…” My words don’t make her lose her worried expression. “Where is she, by the way? You two are most of the time together…”

“She’s…” I drift off. “She’s tired, so she went to her dorm. I probably should do the same.”

“Yeah… You should do that, you look kind of drained.” Hina still looks worried, but gives me a smile. “But, hey, if you need anything, don’t hesitate on calling me, alright? I can call everyone to help!”

“Thanks, Hina.” Her words manage to calm me down a little.

I walk back to my room and, once inside, I head straight to the bed and fall over it. Before I let myself sleep, I check my phone for new messages, finding one from my mother and other from my sister. None from Kyouko.

I should get used to not hearing from her from now on.

I put my phone over the nightstand and sleep for the rest of the day. I only wake up again hours later, in the middle of the night, after having a nightmare where Kyouko got into trouble after investigating something and that escalated in a way that I was unable to see her again. I remember trying to look for her everywhere, and no one knew where she disappeared to.

It was painful.

And now that I had no contact with her anymore, I would never know if she’d fine or not.

Would I be able to live with that? We suddenly got so close, and now imagining going through the rest of my years in university not being able to count with her friendship seemed like a waste.

If only I knew how she got hurt because of that person she got attached to… I would promise her that I’d never let her go through the same thing again.

Hell, I can promise her that already. I’d never let her get hurt.

But she would probably do it anyway, out of her loyalty. Didn’t she just hurt her own pride by asking her father for help, only because of me?

All paths that I think about only lead to the same ending, that us being away from each other was really the best decision.

Then… why does it continue to hurt so bad? If this is the right decision, why my heart feels like it’s going to explode?

Kyouko… I think about her smile, about the way she trusted me showing her hands, the way she told me she appreciated my company. Gosh, my mind even reminds me of our kiss, something I shouldn’t even think about because that’s not relevant…

Would it be too selfish to ask her again for our friendship? At least for her to consider it? Maybe she could keep me off of most of her life, I wouldn’t mind if she didn’t tell me anything… As long as we spent time together, it would be enough.

She did like my company, right? She did tell me that I calmed her. Maybe this would be good for both of us.

Decided to try talking to her about this, I stand up from my bed and leave my room, not even bothering to check myself in the mirror beforehand. I probably looked a mess, but I had more important things in mind.

I arrive by her door and knock a few times. Silence. I knock a few more, and the death silence from inside envelops me.

That’s right; she said she’d pack things and go back home for the rest of the week suspended. She probably left as soon as she could.

I head back to my room feeling empty. I close the door and don’t mind to lock it before walking numbly to my bed and falling over it.

Before I started crying again, though, my phone starts buzzing. I grab it weakly and reply the call, not looking to the screen to check who it was.

“Gosh, finally!” Komaru’s voice fills my ear. “Where were you? You didn’t reply my texts!”

“Sorry.” I mumble. “I’m not feeling very well.”

“Are you alright? Did you eat something bad?” She sounds worried. “Mom asked for you as well.”

“No, I’m fine in the physical sense…” I roll around in my bed, trying to sound better. “It’s just some problems.”

“Do you want to talk about them?” She asks, worried.

“Promise to not tell mom?” I consider her offer.

“Sure.”

She knew already about Kyouko, but I never told her that she was a detective and I was helping her with a case. I go on about that a little, until I tell her that we were suspended and, finally, that Kyouko decided it was best for us to stay away from each other. Komaru only agrees a few times, encouraging me to continue.

“So, you are suspended until the rest of the week?” She asks when I finish. “Why don’t you come home to relax a little for the time being?”

“I don’t want mom and dad to know that I was suspended.” I sigh. “Besides… I feel like I want to stay here for Kyouko.”

“You can make some other excuse to our parents. And Kyouko also went home… You two will see each other in class next week, so you will talk if it comes to that.”

“Yeah, but… I guess I’ll feel restless at home, wondering if she came back earlier to see me and didn’t find me.”

“You’re too optimistic, she cut ties with you!”

“I know, but as much as I wanted to talk to her, she could have the same idea as well.” I sigh, tired. “I’ve annoyed you too much with this already.”

“It’s no annoyance!” She brushes it off. “Hey, why don’t you get her something that shows how important she is to you? At least to serve as some sort of closure.”

“How would I be able to show that?”

“I don’t know, give her something that she’d really like? Maybe related to something she confided to you only?”

“Something she confided to me?” I think.

“Yeah, that’ll show that she’s important to you and you keep everything she tells you close to your heart!”

“That’s actually…. A very sweet idea. I’ll try thinking about something.”

“Do that!” Komaru says excitingly before yawning. “Oh, sorry.”

“It’s okay, you have classes tomorrow… go sleep.”

“Are you alright?”

“I will be.” I say positively. “Good night sis!”

“Good night bro!”

We end the call and I place my phone over the nightstand, thinking about her suggestion. What would be something Kyouko really likes? And related to something she told me…

First thing that comes to my mind is the bad decision she made because of someone she got attached to. Her gloves are a permanent remind for her of that situation, but she still went against her own instincts and decided to trust me.

And she got hurt again.

Well, I don’t know exactly how that went, but once she told me that she had those gloves manufactured in her perfect size to avoid they got in the way of her work. She was the one who had to make these gloves for herself. Where was the person who made her get hurt?

Shouldn’t that person be the one to take care of her after having her hurt herself for them? Being abandoned by the person you’re attached to must hurt a lot.

Thinking now, her father also did this to her. Hurt her and then left her abandoned to deal with her own feelings.

I wouldn’t do that. Maybe Komaru’s idea would be perfect for this.

Kyouko might still not want to talk to me, but I’d show her I’m not the kind of person who’d simply abandon her hurting.

And I’d show her that through a small gift.

I grab my laptop and start googling for images and references for my plan. Would it be difficult to make? I didn’t even know her size…

But that keeps me up for the rest of the night.

I’d make her new gloves.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter ahead <3  
> Have a nice reading!

The idea makes me so pumped that I work on it nonstop not only during that night, but for the following days as well. I research different types of fabric, then go on many shops to analyze them properly in person and ask the sellers for tips…

When I finally choose it, it’s time to decide for the measurements, the most delicate part. Kyouko’s hands are about the same size as mine from what I remembered; only her fingers were a little slimmer than mine. To be safe, I guess I could measure my hand and make the proper adjustments after she tries it on.

Having gathered all material, I find dozens of reference images and head to a tailor that could sew them up. I beg them to make this a priority and in two days I get the gloves perfectly done, having just the weekend to go give it to her.

After I find a nice package and everything’s ready, I google Kirigiri’s detective office’s address and discover it was on a town nearby. It wasn’t complicated to get there, though, so I write down the buses I need to catch and head there the next afternoon.

What I didn’t count was with a rain starting to fall when in still in the middle of the way. When I get there, it starts getting thicker, so I quickly ask for directions and try to locate the office.

As I look, the rain doesn’t give a break and starts getting even stronger. I try to protect the gift inside my coat as I search for the numbers of the house, being barely able to read them in that weather. A couple of blocks ahead, I notice a big plate in front of one house. I feel relieved as I walk closer and see that it read “Kirigiri Detective Agency” in it. I found it.

As I pass the front gate, though, I start hesitating. What would be her reaction upon seeing me here? She might get upset… But I really wanted to give her my present.

I stand there for a few minutes, contemplating my options. Then, I notice her mailbox and decide that it would be best to just leave my present there. She didn’t want us to be close anymore, I should respect that…

I place the present neatly inside the mailbox and close it, hoping she’d get it soon. Once I’m about to leave, I look over the fence and find an old man eyeing me curiously, which almost makes me fall on my back.

“A-Ah!” I yell nervously.

“Who are you and what are you doing in my garden?” He asks me, with his voice calm.

I notice he wore a black overcoat and held a case in one of his hands, with the other holding an umbrella. Could it be that he was Kyouko’s grandfather?

“I-I’m…” I stutter, blushing.

“Let me ask you something else, then. For who is that present you placed in my mailbox?”

“To…” I gulp. “Kyouko…”

“Oh, I see.” His face softens. “Wouldn’t you rather hand it personally to her? She’s inside.”

“N-No…!” I wave my hands. “She—She doesn’t want to see me.”

“Is that so?” He asks curiously. “Well, I can’t simply leave you soaked like that. Would you come in as my guest?”

“I---“

Before I could deny, her grandfather crosses the fence, grabs my present in the mailbox and pulls me inside by my arm. The first room is a big office, where a few people worked on laptops. They all pause what they were doing to greet him, and so we cross the room to go up a stairway. There, he takes me in another room, which looked like a living room.

“Sorry about the ride, but I couldn’t distract my employees…” He lets go of my arm. “I’m going to find you a towel and some dry clothes.”

“T-Thank you.” I mumble, jittery.

“You’re very welcome.” He nods.

He leaves me alone in the room and I take the time to look around. Some pictures were placed on the middle table, and I recognize a young Kyouko in some of them. Her expression, though, was pretty much the same as now; serious and cold.

On a big bookcase there were all sorts of detective and crime books, from guides and laws to fiction. I can imagine her reading these books as a child, sitting on the carpet and being focused on solving the mysteries in them.

Soon Mr. Kirigiri comes back, carrying a towel and some clothes. He places the clothes over a chair and hands me the towel, so I dry my face in it.

“You can change in the bathroom on the corridor.” He instructs me. “But before you do that… Would you finally tell me your name?”

“I’m… Makoto Naegi.” I say, not being able to hide it anymore.

“As I suspected. You’re Kyouko’s boyfriend, right?”

“Well…” I don’t know if I should deny or agree, so I try changing subjects. “Please don’t tell her I’m here, she’ll be upset.”

“Why is that?”

“We… Decided it was best to not be together anymore.”

“I see.” He places his hand on his chin, analyzing the situation. “I believe this is the reason why she arrived here urging me to give her as many cases as she could handle during this period suspended… She wanted a distraction.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. I warned her about overworking and only gave her two simple cases, but she already finished both and now locked herself in her room, since I prohibited her of taking any other.”

“Is she alright?”

“I guess she is. But I worry about the fact that she hides her feelings too much… she needs to release them a few times, otherwise she’ll fall sick.”

“We came to that decision together, so I thought she was alright with this…”

“Sometimes she does things her heart doesn’t really want her to.” He says it while eyeing me, making me a little uncomfortable. “Alright, I should allow you to change before you catch a cold. Meanwhile, I’ll make you some tea. I won’t allow you to leave in such bad weather.”

“T-Thank you, sir.”

“Please feel at home.”

Feeling at complete ease in Kyouko’s house while she doesn’t know I’m here would be impossible, though. I change in the bathroom the quickest I can and return to the living room to wait for her grandfather to come back. Her gift was over the table, so I take it in my hands to inspect if it didn’t get wet. The paper was a little crumbled, but it seems fine overall.

The door soon reopens and Mr. Kirigiri walks in, carrying a tray. He places it over the table and hands me my cup of tea, sitting on the armchair with his cup afterwards.

“So, what did you get her?” He asks curiously.

“I… I made her some waterproof gloves.” I blush, nervous. “I didn’t know her measurements, but I hope they fit…”

“That’s really nice of you.”

“I hope she gets what I mean with this gift. That’s the most important part.”

“She will.” He says confidently. “She’s not good with her feelings, but she knows how to appreciate these gestures and understands the meaning behind them.”

“I wish we could continue as friends after this, but I’m afraid that’s too much…”

“She’s much of a headstrong sometimes, but she eventually comes to terms with her own hidden wishes. Well, it didn’t happen with her father yet, but I believe one day she’ll forgive him.”

“I was the reason she got hurt now, so I believe she won’t go back on her decision so easily.”

“Were you really?” He seems surprised. “Or was it the feelings she has for you?”

“I…” I get confused. “Well, she felt bad for dragging me into this investigation and risking getting me expelled… So she said she’d do anything to get me out of it, and then she ended getting scolded by her father. She was really hurt.”

“Well, now I really do think she’s pretty confused with her own feelings. She did it for you, but then felt like it hurt her pride and decided to cut ties with you to avoid that from happening again.” He smiles, amused. “Oh, if only she was honest with her heart…”

Before I could say anything, suddenly the door opens. We both turn our glances towards it, finding Kyouko frozen by the door.

“What is the meaning of this?” She asks with a stunned expression.

“Kyouko-chan, right in time.” Her grandfather stands up, going towards her. “Your boyfriend came by to leave you a present and I forced him in.”

“Why?” She mumbles, confused.

“Why don’t you talk to him, hm? He was completely soaked outside, he went through a lot of trouble just to give you this present…”

“We don’t have anything to discuss…”

“Then just allow him to give his present and say what he wants to say?” He places his hand over her shoulder, giving it small taps. “Be nice.”

He exits the room, leaving us alone. I stand up nervously and bow, feeling completely embarrassed by all this.

“I’m sorry, Kyouko!” I say firmly. “I really intended on just leaving your present on the mailbox, but your grandfather brought me in…”

“That’s predictable of him.” She passes a hand through her hair. “Well, since you came all the way here, you really should do what you intend.”

She walks towards me and sits on the couch the farthest away from me as possible. I sit back down, with my hands trembling, and grab my present from the table.

“I wanted to do something to you that showed you how much I care about you… And as some sort of closure, if you really prefer us to not be together anymore. I don’t want you to think I’d let you heal your wounds alone… I’d not go anywhere, and I’d help you whenever you need. I know the pain I inflicted you wasn’t physical, but I hope you get the meaning… This is for you.”

I hand her the package and watch as she inspects it curiously. She opens it carefully on the side and reveals the gloves I made.

“They’re waterproof, so you can use whenever you need to swim or deal with water in any way…” I explain, flustered. “I—I… I really hope they fit. I measured by my own hands, since I noticed our hands have similar sizes… I—I mean, your fingers are way thinner and prettier than mine, but when we held hands, they—“

“I got it, Makoto.” She cuts me, sounding calm.

She removes her own gloves and tries them on. Like I expected, they fit her almost perfectly, except for some fingers being a little loose.

“I—I can fix those, if you want. I can measure your hand properly, and—“

“Makoto.” She interrupts me again, eyeing me. I gulp dryly and stop speaking. “Thank you. It was really nice of you making these for me.”

“You’re very welcome, Kyouko.” I smile softly.

“I…” She puts her hair behind her ear. “I don’t know what to say to you. No one ever gave me such a meaningful gift.”

“Y-You don’t need to say anything now. I just… Didn’t want you to think I’d ever abandon you, because I won’t. Even if it’s hard, I’d stay by your side.”

“But why?”

“Because…” I trail off. I also didn’t know how to express the reason. “Because you’re important to me. A lot. We might not know each other for long, but didn’t we do so well together already? Imagine how our friendship would be if we allow it more time? We’d be unbeatable.”

“Makoto, even if we continue being friends, I would never allow you to help in my investigations.”

“I wouldn’t mind.”

“That’s out of question. I’m never putting you on risk again.”

“But I also worry about you putting yourself in risk…”

“See? This is why maybe it’s for the best that we stay away. We make each other weak.”

“Weak?” I frown.

“Yes. As much as I denied, I got attached to you. And for my selfish feelings, I dragged you deeper and deeper into this investigation, just because I wanted to be close to you.” She blurts, making me lose my breath. “The realization of this made me angry, especially because the last time I grew attached to someone and made decisions because of them, well… Things didn’t end in a good way for me.”

“But I told you, I’d never allow you to get hurt because of me.”

“You wouldn’t. But my feelings would. And I don’t know if I’m ready for this again.”

Maybe now I was understanding her better. She worried about her own feelings. She worried about doing something reckless again because of someone she got attached to…

But isn’t that the risk of getting involved with someone?

“I guess it’s a fair trade, if you consider my feelings as well. I’d also do anything for you.” I say nervously.

“And you’re okay with that?” She eyes me, confused.

“Yes. Being with you it’s worth anything.”

She giggles softly, turning her head away, and my heart calms down listening to that.

“You’re really naïve.” She says in a soft tone. “Why do you have to make things so difficult? This afternoon I almost thought I’d be able to stay away from you.”

“I’m…” Flustered, I stutter. “I don’t want to force you on anything! I just want you to know—“

“I got it, Makoto.” She turns back to me, cutting my words. “You know, I actually kept you close because I wanted to understand my own feelings better. I really like you.”

I feel my face warm and my eyes fill with tears with her words. She was being so open that I almost couldn’t believe.

“Kyouko… I’m so glad.” I let a tear slip from my eyes, but I quickly dry it. “I also like you a lot.”

She slides closer to me, placing her hand over mine.

“I won’t allow you to get involved into anything that might get you in trouble, but I guess that’s a risk we’re both taking being together.”

“Yes.” I nod. “And I’ll be by your side, no matter what.”

Giving me a small smile, she bends closer and pulls me into a hug, hiding her face on my shoulder. I almost don’t know how to react, but then I place my hands around her as well, hugging her back.

“You’re very important to me, Kyouko.” I say as firmly as I can in her ear.

“I believe you are as well for me.”

I don’t know for how long we stay hugging like that. My rushing heart eventually calms down, so I caress her hair and relax with her in my arms.

We spend the rest of the afternoon talking in that living room. Kyouko shows me her favorite books, and it was nice listening her talking so excitingly about something – her expression was still the same, but her words were full of feelings.

The rain doesn’t stop for even a minute, so she suggests I should sleep there and come back to campus with her on the next morning. She gets the couch ready for me, bringing some pillows and covers, and we continue talking there until we felt sleepy and she went back to her room.

For some reason, though, while she said she was going to her room, she gave me a suspicious wink. I thought it was maybe something in her eye, since it was weird for her to make such thing, and decide to ignore it.

I fall asleep quite easily with the sound of the rain. In the middle of the night, for my surprise, I feel someone shaking me and jolt up in surprise.

“Why are you sleeping?” Kyouko asks, frowning.

“Because it’s the middle of the night?” I say, confused.

“I gave you a hint that I have other plans instead of sleeping.”

“Oh, so that’s what that winking was about?”

“Tsk.” She rolls her eyes. “I don’t know if you being so clueless is annoying or adorable.”

“A-Adorable?” I giggle, blushing.

“Come on. We’re going to my back yard… My grandfather is already asleep, but we should go outside just in case.”

I stand up quickly and follow her. Being careful to avoid making any sounds, we walk downstairs, finding out that some of her grandfather’s employees still worked, even though it was very late. We reach the back of the house and arrive outside, on a small porch connected to a garden.

“I thought your place couldn’t get cooler.” I say as I eye the flowers. Most of them were roses.

“I come here when I want to think or calm down.” She sits on the steps and taps the space besides her. “Come.”

I inhale deeply before walking to her and sitting by her side. We stay in silence for a few seconds, just admiring the soft rain. Kyouko lifts her feet to reach the end of the roof, getting her feet wet, and I do the same. The water was cold.

“So…” I decide to say, since she didn’t seem like going to speak anything. “Why did you bring me here?”

“Isn’t it obvious already?” She turns her head to me, slightly surprised.

“Uh… Well, it couldn’t be that you just wanted us to wet our feet on the rain…”

“That was exactly my plan. Besides showing you my backyard, of course.” She sighs, turning to watch the rain again. “I’m so disappointed; I thought you’d like this.”

“N-No! That’s not it!” I jump, flustered. “Of course I liked that you showed me this place! It’s really nice and calm, but… Just forget it, I thought it would be something else…”

“What could it be?” She asks curiously.

“I—I don’t know! Really, just forget it!”

“Makoto, I’m teasing you.” She giggles lightly. “Calm down.”

Her smile manages to calm me down instantly. I giggle as well, feeling embarrassed, and so our eyes meet. She looked angelic, with her smile and relaxed expression, so I end blushing.

“I need to tell you something.” She finally says softly, not breaking eye contact.

“Yes.” I take a deep breath, feeling anxious all of the sudden.

“I’m…” She trails off and lowers her head. “I don’t really think you understood what I meant when I said that I kept you close to understand my feeling better. I’ve never been through this, so I don’t know how to deal well with it…”

“What do you mean?” I get a little worried.

“You really didn’t get the hint, right?” She chuckles. “I imagined you’d be oblivious in most part of my tests, but I thought you’d eventually realize it.”

“Tests?”

“Yes. Just some experiments to allow me to grasp the nature of my feelings… I guess these tests aren’t necessary anymore, but it will all depend on your answer.”

“K-Kyouko…” I blush, knowing on the back of my brain where this was heading but not allowing myself to admit it.

“I’ve come to terms with my feelings; I decided to accept the fact that I’m attached to you in a different way.” She tries looking into my eyes again, but I sense she’s just as nervous as me as she looks away again. “So I’d like to ask… Would you…”

She stops on her words, inhaling deeply, and looks back to me.

“I don’t know if you being so clueless is because you really never considered it or because of your low self esteem.” Her cheeks were a little red. “Let’s cross your self esteem out of the way. Makoto, I told you already that I enjoy being with you, that you make me calm and happy and I trust you a lot.”

“I’m not sure I’m following it...” I chuckle nervously. “But yes, and I almost can’t believe it… I feel honored just by being by your side.”

“What if I say I want more than that?”

My heart stops in my chest. Maybe the back of my mind was right, after all.

“I—“ I stutter. “Kyouko… You mean…”

“Please don’t let your insecurities on the way.”

“But… You’re so amazing, Kyouko. Seriously. You’re intelligent, skilled, independent, and… beyond gorgeous…” I blush hard. “Why would you want to be with someone as average as me?”

“You’re not average. You’re optimistic, pure, has a huge heart that seems almost unreal… You make me look forward to things. Life seems interesting with you. And… You say I’m gorgeous, but have you ever looked at yourself in the mirror?”

“K-Kyouko!” I hide my face with my hands. “I can’t handle this…”

“Well… I guess now you got what I mean, right?” She puts her hair behind her ear, while I watch her between my fingers. “I don’t mind if you need time to think, but I just don’t want you to have any insecurities. I want your honest feelings.”

I liked her so much. My heart was yelling in my chest.

But would I be worthy of it? Being close to her in such an intimate way…

Kissing her comes back to my mind. I look to her face and my eyes fall on her lips instantly. Could I allow myself to want to kiss her again?

I guess I would have to become worthy of staying by her side. She opened her heart to me, and the least I could do was doing the same for her. What she mostly likes about me is my naïve honesty, right? So I couldn’t continue lying to myself.

I like her. I’m in love with her.

I want to stay by her side.

“Kyouko… Can I kiss you?”

She blushes a little harder with my question, but nods anyway. She wets her lips with the tip of her tongue as I slide closer to her, a little tremble, but trying to continue determined in my decision.

She’s the one to end the distance between our faces. We touch softly, and we take our time feeling how our lips felt against each other. We progressively deepen the kiss as she places her hand on my neck and I place mine in her face, caressing her cheek. Our first kiss was rushed, so we should explore each step the most we can now.

My left hand finds her waist as we get even closer. Her tongue makes way and meets mine, and as they rub together I feel breathless… I guess we both did, since we soon stop to catch our breaths.

Her breathing was accelerated, her lips were reddish and her smile was contagious. I put her hair behind her ear and touch our foreheads, smiling as well.

I’d try my best.

“I’m in love with you, Kyouko Kirigiri.” I say, feeling fluttery.

“I’m also in love with you, Makoto Naegi.”

We kiss again. And again. I kiss her cheek, her nose, her eyes, making her chuckle and bite softly my ear, lowering down to my neck with a trail of kisses.

We hold each other tenderly.

And I feel like things would be well for now on.

 

 

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, thank you all for reading and dropping your feedbacks on this story, I really appreciate it all <3  
> I wrote this fic mainly to help me cope with my irl stuff, and it was nice being able to daydream about it and distracting myself with it! It was supposed to be just a bunch of fluff scenes in an AU, but I guess I got a little over myself and tried writing something more elaborate while being unable to give my all at the moment... sorry about that, I really apologize!  
> I guess what made me happier is how getting into naegiri even made me start writing again, after over a year having a block, so I'm really thankful to be a part of this fandom!  
> I want to thank you all again for reading, and I promise to work harder on my following works, taking in consideration your feedbacks~  
> I hope this reading managed to bring a smile to your face like it did bring to mine n_n
> 
> PS: I did mention to some readers that I'm working on a extra chapter, I don't know when I'll finish it yet but I'll update here as soon as I do <3


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